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
Tearjerking K-pop Ballads: Korean Songs That Will Make You Cry (11–20)
Your regards(니 소식)Song Ha-ye (Son Ha-ye)
Song Ha-ye’s “Your Regards” is a spring 2019 ballad that ranked high on the streaming charts.
It overflows with the heartache of hearing, through the grapevine, that an ex has found a new lover.
Even when you try to switch your feelings, you can’t do it right away—it’s painful.
In the music video, the singing scene around the mid-to-late section, with its karaoke-like immediacy and raw urgency, tightens your chest to the point you feel your emotions might collapse.
Also, be sure to listen for its connection to “Another Love (새 사랑),” released the same autumn as a spin-off.
MY LOVE (2025)이예은, 아샤트리, 전건호
A ballad whose intricate harmonies and heartrending vocals stir the soul.
A powerhouse trio—Lee Ye-eun, Ashatori, and Jeong Geon-ho—join forces to deliver this passionate track.
Released in February 2025 as a remake of the classic first put out by the rock band Buzz in 2006, it preserves the strengths of the original while beautifully blending the three artists’ distinct styles, earning heartfelt support in Korea.
Wrapped in an elegant arrangement of piano and strings, it’s a perfect song for a calm night when you want to linger in memories.
LOVE SCENARIO (사랑을 했다)iKON
LOVE SCENARIO, iKON’s signature track and a well-known breakup song.
When you go through a breakup, it feels like there’s a gaping hole in your heart, doesn’t it? This song portrays someone thinking about days that will never return and looking back on the time they were in love.
Yet even in that reflection, it conveys a forward-looking feeling that it was a wonderful romance.
The unison part in the latter half strangely gives you strength, but that brightness can also bring you to tears.
That blend of poignancy and power really hits you, you know?
TURTLETwice
A cute number overflowing with pop appeal.
It’s included on the 2017 full album “Twicetagram.” It’s so cute and rhythmic that at first it may seem far from a tearjerker, but the lyrics—where feelings compared to a balloon keep swelling—resonate and can make you a little teary.
The way it expresses the difference in the pace of men’s and women’s feelings through the hare and the tortoise is unique and totally relatable! The gentle, conversational vocal delivery is wonderful, too.
I think it hits especially deep when you’re in the lovey-dovey stage.
Run With MeRoy Kim
A song produced by Roy Kim for the film “Better Days.” Released in August 2024, this work is a remake of Sunwoo Jung-A’s original version.
Roy Kim won an audition program in 2012 and made his debut the following year.
It features emotionally rich vocals and a dynamic sound that gradually builds.
The lyrics carry a message of “Let’s keep running together,” resonating deeply with the film’s theme of youth, growth, and struggle.
With gentle words, it’s a song that may move you to tears even more in difficult times.
My everything(안녕 내 전부였던 너)Punch(펀치)
An acoustic ballad released in 2021 by Punch, known as the fairy of OSTs and the creator of countless masterpieces.
This one was also composed by Rocoberry.
It’s a breakup song about trying to accept the fact of being alone in order to move forward.
The lyrics, which convey that state of mind and express gratitude to a former lover, are heartrending and wrap you in a deeply sentimental mood.
Punch’s squeezed-out vocals seem to amplify the sadness even more, striking right at the tear ducts.
When the person you thought was your everything leaves, it can feel as if life has ended, leaving a gaping hole in your heart.
In those moments between loss and a new future, I’m sure listening to this song will make the empathy unstoppable and bring you to tears.
Heart-wrenching K-pop Ballads: Korean Tearjerker Songs (21–30)
STAYBLACKPINK
A beautiful acoustic-sounding classic that represents BLACKPINK’s early era, “STAY.” Released in 2016 and included on their second single album SQUARE TWO.
The song wraps its languid, ennui-tinged verses in a tender, wistful atmosphere.
Its message simply longs for someone to stay by your side.
It captures both feelings—the confession of love and that aching softness—in perfect balance.
There’s a beauty in that expression that really hits you.
It’s a song that stays with you not just in love, but also when you’re feeling low.
The sense of unity in the crowd is amazing, and it’s a ballad that’s guaranteed to make you cry even more when you hear it live.