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
K-POP Ballads That Will Make You Cry: Korean Tearjerker Songs (111–120)
Beautiful WomanLee Ye Joon
Singer Lee Ye-jun’s new release from January 2025.
It’s a heartrending ballad that sings of deep sorrow and regret after losing a loved one.
The arrangement is simple yet emotionally powerful, and Lee Ye-jun’s clear, crystalline vocals leave a strong impression.
Moments of parting and the plea to “love me once again” are conveyed through the beautiful harmony of piano and strings.
It’s the perfect song for soothing the pain of heartbreak or reflecting on someone dear to you.
EmptyCHEN
A tearjerker from CHEN’s fourth mini album “DOOR,” woven with grand piano melodies and moving strings.
Released in May 2024 by the Korea-born artist, this poignant ballad portrays the pain of heartbreak and the ache of loneliness.
Known as the main vocalist of EXO, his expressive voice beautifully conveys the emotions that sway within an empty heart.
Also featured on the soundtrack of the drama “HERO,” this song tenderly accompanies the sorrow of losing someone dear.
Listen to it alone late at night, and it’s sure to resonate deeply.
I Still love you a lotJeon Sang Keun(전상근)
This song, with its beautifully striking high notes in the chorus, is by the singer-songwriter Jeong Seung-eun.
It’s a sad love song about a man who was dumped by his girlfriend.
The lyrics are so heartbreakingly sorrowful that both men and women will likely relate—and they make you want to cry as you listen.
The pain of still loving her yet being unable to say “please come back,” the longing to meet again even after the breakup—imagining it all against Jeong Seung-eun’s magnificent vocals brings tears to your eyes.
Counting DaysUrban Zakapa
A song by the Korean R&B trio Urban Zakapa that portrays poignancy and deep longing.
Released in June 2024, it’s the much-anticipated track marking the group’s first full-member comeback in three years.
The delicate vocals convey a sense of loss and a wish for reunion that tightens the chest.
Counting the days while thinking of a lover evokes both loneliness and hope.
It’s a song for those carrying the pain of heartbreak or wishing to meet a cherished person again.
Showcasing Urban Zakapa’s richly sensitive musicality, this work is sure to resonate deeply with listeners.
On Rainy DaysBEAST
A mid-tempo number by BEAST, the group that was reborn as HIGHLIGHT in 2017.
It’s included on their first full album, “Fiction and Fact.” People often say that scents can trigger memories, and this song captures that idea as if the scent were turned into rain.
He knows it’s over because she’s said goodbye, yet there’s nothing he can do but lament… The way the lyrics express this is painfully moving.
The imagery of falling rain links with the blue mood, making it all the more heartrending.
