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
Heart-wrenching K-pop Ballads: Korean Tearjerker Songs (21–30)
헤어지자 말해요(Let’s Say Goodbye)박재정(Parc Jae Jung)
Park Jae-jung, whose voice blends gentleness with power, is loved by many.
Among the songs he sings, the heartbreak ballad “헤어지자 말해요 (Let’s Say Goodbye)” is especially known for making listeners cry.
As the title suggests, it portrays a man who wishes the woman would be the one to bring up the breakup, and a woman who tries to do so but hesitates.
However, if you listen closely, you can tell that deep down they don’t really want to part—that’s the part that brings tears.
See The LightGOT7
This song by GOT7 from JYP Entertainment, released in 2006, hooks you right away with Jackson’s cool rap at the beginning! The title has a meaning like “You Who Shine.” The man in the song feels very happy because he has a radiant, wonderful girlfriend, but at the same time, he’s jealous.
Since his girlfriend is so amazing, he can’t help worrying about other men’s feelings toward her.
It’s kind of cute, isn’t it? That’s exactly why its straightforward message of “only you” really captivates women.
Sing For YouEXO
A ballad where EXO’s rich vocals sink in over a moist, gentle acoustic guitar melody.
It’s one of the double title tracks from their 2015 winter album, “Sing For You.” When you’re in love, that person can feel larger than anything else.
The more time you spend together, the harder it somehow becomes to say those simple, ordinary words—why is that? While this song centers on the theme of a confession, it warmly stands by you in conveying those everyday feelings, making it a tender tearjerker.
Its mystical mood slowly seeps in, too.
GIRL FRIENDBIGBANG
A love song that portrays happy days with someone you cherish, released by BIGBANG, who captivate audiences with their overflowing charisma and rich musicality.
It was included on MADE, the masterpiece released in 2016 that concludes the MADE series.
“Just thinking about the person you love can make you happy.” This song, which sings of such fulfilling love, has a relaxed mood that lets you deeply feel that atmosphere.
The straightforward lyrics, filled with the desire to stay together forever, gently tug at your heartstrings.
How can I love the heartbreak, You’re The One I Love악동뮤지션 (AKMU)
Akdong Musician’s tearjerker.
It portrays lovers on the verge of breaking up.
From the man’s point of view, you can tell he doesn’t really want to part with her.
The song is set on a nighttime sidewalk—only streetlights shine; everything else is pitch-black.
The darkness of the night brings out the couple’s loneliness and sorrow.
There’s no sudden, dramatic swell like in classic sob songs, but the quiet delivery only deepens the sadness.
Don’t Wanna Cry (울고 싶지 않아)SEVENTEEN
A signature song by SEVENTEEN released in 2017.
With its beautiful, fragile melody and atmosphere, it felt like a new frontier at the time, as if it overturned the image Seventeen had up to that point.
The title is “Don’t Wanna Cry,” but the tears overflow and won’t stop.
While facing that kind of sadness, the way the song heats up in the latter half makes my heart swell.
It also carries a sense of strength that pushes you to go out and search.
I think it’s a song that lets you feel the power that comes after the tears.
EYES, NOSE, LIPS -KR Ver.-SOL (from BIGBANG)
“EYES, NOSE, LIPS” was born from SOL’s real-life experience.
It’s based on a breakup he went through with a former lover.
From this true-to-life heartbreak song, it went on to become a major global hit.
The title is striking, and it implicitly means he remembers every detail of his ex-girlfriend.
Her gestures and the way she touched him are seared vividly into his mind.
With memories that clear, you’d think it wouldn’t be painful—but of course it is.
You can really feel the push and pull of wanting to let go but being unable to.