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 are sure to make you cry: Korean tearjerker songs (41–50)
APOLOGYiKON
APOLOGY is a heartbreak song that makes you painfully realize that nothing lasts forever.
It’s a track released in 2015 by iKON, the junior group to BIGBANG.
iKON often delivers emotionally resonant songs, and this one hits in that same way.
The lyrics are from a male perspective, where he initiates the breakup, and what’s unusual is the added sense of cool detachment.
It seems to reflect differences in how men and women think, and the gradual misalignment that led to the decision to part ways is all the more heartrending.
That sadness, contrasted with the strength it takes to choose the next step, tugs at your heartstrings.
Remember MeKYUHYUN
Speaking of Kyuhyun, the youngest (maknae) of Super Junior under SM Entertainment, he’s renowned for his outstanding vocals even among K-pop idols.
This track is a poignant love song from his 2015 solo release, “Again, When the Fall Comes – The 2nd Mini Album.” No one dates with a breakup in mind, yet we inevitably go through such experiences.
The heartrending feelings of a man trying, with a fragile heart, to let go of the woman he still loves will move you to tears.
Loving someone, yet not being able to make it work—that’s just too painful!
Somebody NewSUPER JUNIOR
It’s a medium-tempo ballad included on the 2019 album “Time Slip.” Starting with a verse that feels like it carefully traces each step, the warm, swelling chorus really hits home.
The song reflects the bond of members who have walked forward together one step at a time, overflowing with Super Junior’s signature heartwarming wish to keep walking alongside their cherished friends.
Watching the music video draws you in even more and can bring you to tears.
There’s also a part that tells you to be yourself, just the way you are, making it a great source of encouragement when you’re struggling or feeling down.
Star민서/MINSEO
The OST from the drama Doctor John starring Ji Sung.
A tearful song about boundless love for a lover one can no longer meet.
Since the drama is a medical series, it can be taken as focusing on people at the end of their lives.
Those who suddenly have to say goodbye due to illness or accidents.
This song expresses the feelings of the ones leaving this world.
You’ll likely be moved to tears by its message: though unseen, I’m always watching over you.
Only I didn’t knowIU
A song wrapped in IU’s heartrending vocals.
It’s a track from the mini-album Real+, released in February 2011.
The lyrics, depicting the pain of heartbreak and regret, deeply resonate.
The feelings of blaming oneself for not realizing the breakup with a lover are expressed with delicate nuance.
IU’s crystalline voice and the grand orchestral sound are a perfect match.
It’s said that Yoon Sang composed this piece as a gift for IU.
When you want to heal the pain of a broken heart, why not listen to this song and sort out your feelings?
We can break up then.Roi Kimu
This song, with its gentle and memorable vocals, is sung by Roy Kim, who took the top spot on the audition program Superstar K4.
Roy Kim’s voice—its beautiful tone, its power, and the poignant emotion that comes through so strongly—everything about his expressiveness is truly remarkable! The song is about not worrying about other people or circumstances, and choosing to believe in the love the two of you have right now.
It might not sound very practical to say, “Don’t worry about the future; we’ll think about it when the time comes.” But that kind of romantic ideal is something we can’t help but admire, isn’t it?
A world called youYun Mire
This song became part of the OST for the 2016 Korean drama The Legend of the Blue Sea.
It’s a beautiful love story with a fantasy setting, starring the handsome Lee Min-ho as a human and the stunning Jun Ji-hyun as a mermaid.
The song also sings of the couple’s powerful love, and its emotions for that one, irreplaceable person in the world are sure to bring tears to your eyes.
Yoon Mi-rae is a leading female singer in Korea’s R&B and hip-hop scenes, and she’s an accomplished artist who’s incredible even when singing ballads!
Tomorrow will come.TVXQ (also known as Tohoshinki; literally “Rising Gods of the East”)
He is a male artist who could be called the pioneer of K-pop in Japan.
From 2003 to 2010, they performed as a five-member group, but they are now a male duo, and they remain popular enough to rank on Japanese music charts even today.
Your eyes tellBTS
An original Japanese ballad by BTS overflowing with emotion and featuring an exquisite high-tone vocal.
It was chosen as the theme song for the film “Your Eyes Tell,” starring Yuriko Yoshitaka and Ryusei Yokohama, a remake of the Korean drama “Always.” The Japanese lyrics are very beautiful.
The sound—which Jung Kook took part in—feels like the light of dawn, and conveys a powerful resolve to “move forward no matter what happened in the past.” A song that brims with Jung Kook’s talent! With an atmosphere like offering up a prayer, this track stays close to you in hard times and brings you to tears.
Miss YouMONSTAX
MONSTA X, exuding a sexy and wild allure, released this track in 2017.
It’s a medium-tempo number included on their first full album, THE CLAN 2.5 Part 2.5: The Final Chapter.
Although it’s a breakup song, the lyrics exquisitely capture the helpless emotions of being dumped and really hit home.
If it had an alternate title, it might be “Why.” The unexpectedly bright tone of the music might actually make you cry.
It’s heartbreaking in the way it portrays someone unable to let go, relying on others rather than picking themselves up.