Tearjerker K-pop ballads: Korean songs that will make you cry
When do you break down in tears?
When you go through a breakup, when you can no longer see someone important to you—so many emotions can well up at times like these.
Here, we carefully curate and introduce K-pop “songs that make you cry” that stand close to each person’s desire to weep.
From tracks that overwhelm with grand, expansive worlds to songs that intimately capture everyday life, we cover a wide range—classic staples, of course, and new releases added as they come.
May these emotion-rich songs unique to K-pop help soothe your heart, even just a little.
- K-POP and Korean tear-jerker songs: tracks that deeply resonate and bring you to tears
- [Exquisite Ballad Songs] K-pop that touches the soul. Korean Ballads
- K-pop that touches the heart: masterful ballads by Korean male artists
- K-pop that touches the heart: iconic ballads by Korean female artists
- K-pop and Korean love songs: Love songs that really capture the Korean view of romance
- A poignant, heart-touching K-pop song. A bittersweet track that resonates with many different emotions.
- [K-POP] Korean 'yami' songs that fit a blue mood
- [Tearjerker] Songs that make your heart tremble with tears & moving tracks with lyrics that touch the soul
- An emotional Korean song. A gently moving, sensitive masterpiece.
- [Korean popular music] Popular trot songs. Masterpieces by trot singers.
- A J-POP song highly popular in South Korea [with a Korean-language cover too!]
- [Korea] A ballad-style friendship song. A roundup of classic K-pop masterpieces
- K-pop to color your Instagram stories: recommended Korean songs
Tearjerker K-pop Ballads: Korean Songs That Make You Cry (1–10)
DESTINY(우연이 아니야)IZ*ONE
A medium-tempo number included on the 2020 release BLOOM*IZ, written and composed by Lee Ki-yong-bae.
The Korean title carries the nuance of “It’s not a coincidence = It’s fate,” making it a song that feels as if it’s truly about IZ*ONE.
When the group’s activities were temporarily suspended, there was a moving moment on Sakura Miyawaki’s regular radio show, “Konya, Sakura no Ki no Shita de,” where she shared her feelings and the song played—I couldn’t help but shed tears.
It’s a track that conveys the members’ bond and warms your heart as you listen.
I’ve heard that Hitomi Honda—Hii-chan—said this is her favorite song on the album.
Lonely nightBEN
A song released in December 2020 by Ben, the queen of ballads.
“혼술” means “drinking alone,” and it’s a ballad that stays close to feelings of loneliness and lingering anxiety.
During the pandemic, when it was hard to meet people freely, and in the grind of getting through each day, sometimes you just feel like drinking alone, right? The lyrics feel as if they’re speaking directly to you, and the melody tugs at your heartstrings.
Please take your time and listen.
Ben’s voice seeps deep into your core, and if you play it when you’re worn out, you might just find yourself bursting into tears.
ButterflyBTS
For those in relationships on the verge of breaking, or in love with someone who already has an unattainable partner—this is exactly when “Butterfly” hits hardest.
It’s a ballad about sharing youth together, included on The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, Pt.
2, an album titled with a phrase meaning “the most beautiful moment in life.” The lyrics, echoing with the desperate plea to “stop time,” bring tears to your eyes.
Enhanced by BTS’s expressive delivery, the fragility and yearning are amplified.
Perhaps life is beautiful precisely because of the uncertainties and the things we cannot see.
Tearjerking K-pop Ballads: Korean Songs That Will Make You Cry (11–20)
I’m here for youX1
A letter-like ballad by X1, born from the 2019 audition program PRODUCE X 101.
The gentle melody and vocals are woven as if speaking to you carefully, word by word.
With lyrics that encourage you—“It’s okay to walk slowly.
It’s alright.
I’m here.”—this is a song whose unwavering kindness truly resonates.
The lyrics are just unbelievably beautiful.
Hearing words like these is so reassuring, isn’t it? It makes me teary even on a normal day, but when I’m feeling down, it’s a guaranteed tearjerker—a masterpiece.
X1 will continue to live on in our hearts.
Make me cry(나를 울려)Cha Ga-eul, Jang Sae-byeok
The duet song “Make me cry” by Cha Ga-eul and Jang Se-byeok, who debuted in 2019 under Monday Kiz Company, was released in 2021.
It was produced by Lee Jin-sung of the male R&B unit Monday Kiz.
With lyrics and composition by Han Kyung-soo and Choi Han-sol—who worked on many ballads for the drama Start-Up—it’s a superb ballad that is lyrical and emotionally stirring.
The aching longing for an unforgettable love, layered with the duo’s beautiful harmonies, is sure to move you to tears.
AbyssJin(BTS)
A deep ballad that overwhelms with Jin’s beautiful vocals.
It was released on December 4, his birthday.
Though it has an oceanic depth, a gentle atmosphere peeks through.
Conveying the feelings at the bottom of one’s heart is very difficult, but turning them into a song and sharing them like this reveals Jin’s character.
As the eldest of BTS, his struggles, his identity as an individual—this is precious music filled with Jin’s thoughts.
It may bring you to tears, but when everything feels obscured, it might help you slowly face yourself.
It’s heartrending, yet somehow encouraging and empowering.
Eyes like Snow(눈 닮은 눈)DALsooobin(달수빈)
A gentle ballad released by Dal★Shabet’s Dal Subin on New Year’s Day 2021.
Inspired by entries from a childcare diary written by Subin’s mother, the song—written and composed by Subin herself—features a graceful, piano-driven sound that draws you into a world where you feel as if you’re facing yourself.
Combined with Subin’s beautiful vocals, it evokes a mysterious sensation, as though you’re remembering a pure, innocent feeling.
It also seems to portray the fragility of life—caught between wanting to go back to the past and not wanting to—and it feels like the kind of song that could make you break down in tears during tough times.