K-dramas transcend genres, but similar to life, they don't always end on a happy note. In the last few years, Korean entertainment has been gaining international recognition thanks to global hits such as Netflix's Squid Game and Bong Joon Ho's Parasite. Known for their inventive storytelling, however, K-dramas are able to resonate with the public because of their universal themes.
Because of its tendency to lean on human storylines, K-dramas often mirror real-life experiences regardless of their genre. So while they usually tackle the joys of all kinds of love, they also don't shy away from exposing the harsh realities that come with it. Just like life, K-dramas can be bittersweet, but sometimes, they can also be devastatingly sad.
15 Autumn In My Heart
In the early 2000s, sappy K-dramas were all the rage, and it started with Autumn In My Heart. The first from a seasonal anthology, the show follows Yoon Eun-Seo who was mistakenly switched at birth with Choi Shin-Ae. The girls had very different upbringings, making it difficult for them to settle into their real lives after they learned the harsh truth. As years ed by, however, Eun-Seo and her supposed brother, Yoon Joon-Seo, develop romantic feelings for each other. Hindered by their complicated family life and Eun-Seo's terminal illness, Autumn In My Heart ends in a double tragedy.
14 Winter Sonata
Autumn In My Heart is followed by Winter Sonata, which kick-started K-dramas' popularity in Japan and other neighboring countries known as "Hallyu." This winter-set series follows ill-fated lovers, Kang Joon-Sang and Jeong Yoo-Jin as they are separated by his fake death. Years after Joon-Sang's supposed demise, Yoo-Jin is unable to move on from her first love. Their paths cross again during adulthood, but Joon-Sang's amnesia, not to mention their respective relationships with other people, makes rekindling their romance so much more complicated.
13 Stairway To Heaven
Combine all the saddest elements from Autumn In My Heart and Winter Sonata and the result is Stairway To Heaven. One of the most heartbreaking love stories in K-drama, it follows Cha Song-Joo as he grieves the death of his first and true love, Han Jeong-Seo. Things change for him when he comes across someone who looks exactly like her. After a series of attempts to separate them from arguably some of the most evil villains in Korean entertainment, the couple eventually comes together. Unfortunately, they have to part ways again after Jeong-Seo's cancer metastasizes. Overall, Stairway to Heaven's story is sad, but the show also features some of the most gutting scenes in K-drama.
12 I’m Sorry, I Love You
Partly shot in Australia, I'm Sorry, I Love You tackles the relationship between Cha Moo-Hyeok and Song Eun-Chae. The pair's respective situations already make a potential romance difficult, but as they grow closer together, they learn how their horrible pasts are tied, which further complicates their dynamic. Despite his hang-ups in life, however, Moo-Heyok kills himself in a car accident to donate his heart to the ailing Eun-Chae. Not long after, she decides to give up her own life in the hopes that they can be together again.
11 Something Happened In Bali
What separates Something Happened In Bali from other sappy K-dramas is how unique it is in its tragedy. Set in Bali, Indonesia, it follows Lee Soo-Jeong as she gets entangled in a love triangle involving Jung Jae-Min, Choi Young-Joo, and Kang In-Wook. Aside from its complex love story, Something Happened In Bali also tackles corporate drama, which plays a pivotal role in its tragic ending. Ultimately, Soo-Jeong gets killed by Jae-Min after suspecting that she is having an affair with In-Wook, only to find out that she really loves her. Unable to deal with his guilt, he ends up killing himself as well.
10 Sad Love Song
Seo Joon-Young and Park Hye-In's romance in Sad Love Song started when they were still kids. Regrettably, despite their love for each other, they had to separate so that the blind Hye-In gets a shot at a better future in America. Decades after their original split, they reunite. However, Hye-In doesn't recognize her first love after believing that he has ed away from an accident. By the time they are finally able to be together, Joon-Young is forced to sacrifice his own life for the sake of his best friend, Lee Gun-Woo. He lives just long enough to see Hye-In reach her dreams of performing in front of a massive crowd.
9 East of Eden
Sweeping stories are normal for sad K-dramas, but nothing is as expansive as East of Eden. Instead of tackling one kind of love, the MBC epic tackles multiple kinds of it. The show has really strong romances, including a slow-burn relationship between Lee Dong-Chul and Gook Young-Ran, as well as a love story cut short by a sexual assault by Lee Dong-Wook and Kim Ji-Hyun. Ultimately, however, it's the love between brothers Dong-Chul and Dong-Wook that is the backbone of East of Eden.
8 IRIS
Part spy thriller, part romance, one man's tragic fate defines the whole story of IRIS. Kim Hyun-Jun, played by Squid Game's Front Man, Lee Byeong-Heon, is recruited to South Korea's NSS (National Security Service) to be one of its top spies. He is sent on a suicide mission, however, that completely derails his whole life after his own organization betrays him. Hyun-Jun is forced to team up with North Koreans for his own survival. Thanks to the help of his loyal partner, Choi Seung-Hee, he is able to clear his name. Not long after that, however, the North Koreans are able to assassin him unbeknownst to Seung-Hee.
7 A Thousand Days’ Promise
Starting as a typical Korean romance, Lee Seo-Yeon and Park Ji-Hyung's story in A Thousand Days' Promise takes a dramatic turn when she finds out that she gets diagnosed with early on-set Alzheimer's. This is despite being only in her 30s. Regardless of her situation, Ji-Hyung proves his love for her by making the most out of the time they have left together. They get married and even had a daughter. Watching Seo-Yeon's condition worsens is heart-wrenching, especially when she starts forgetting her own child.
6 Bad Man
Shim Gun-Wook's revenge plot against the powerful Hong family drives the story of Bad Man. After being taken in and then eventually discarded by the clan, he loses everything in life, which motivates him to weave an elaborate plan to destroy them. He starts to question his plans when he meets and falls in love with Moon Jae-In. By the time he decides to walk back on his schemes and starts a quiet life with her, his past catches up with him, resulting in his tragic death.