10 Most Heartbreaking K-Dramas if You're Obsessed With When Life Gives You Tangerines

On March 7, Netflix premiered the South Korean drama When Life Gives You Tangerines, starring Park Bo-gum and IU.

This is one of the most heartbreaking projects of the year, a story about ordinary people who challenge fate and choose love.

We have found ten more K-dramas that will touch your soul and make you shed a tear.

1. Hi Bye, Mama!, 2020

The series tells about a woman named Cha Yu-ri. She dies in a tragic accident, but comes back as a ghost for 49 days because she can't leave her daughter.

Yu-ri meets her husband Cho Gang-hwa and manages to tie up many loose ends that she didn't have time to finish before her sudden death.

This tragic story is enough to touch anyone's heart. You'll want to call your close family members or friends and tell them how much you love and appreciate them. It's definitely an emotional roller coaster that you need to prepare for.

2. Twenty Five Twenty One, 2022

The main events of the series take place between 1998 and 2001 – during the financial crisis. Na Hee-do is a member of the school's fencing team, but it ends up disbanded due to insolvency.

She then transfers to a new school and soon joins the national team. Here begins her difficult path to fame and the status of a legendary South Korean athlete.

It seems that the K-drama Twenty Five Twenty One broke the most fan hearts in 2022. Few expected the light and bright story about youth, dreams and first love to end so realistically.

3. When the Weather Is Fine, 2020

The measured life of a small Korean village takes on new colors with the arrival of Mok Hae-won. Tired of the hustle and bustle of the capital, the girl returns to her hometown.

She can hardly be called a troublemaker – Hae-won is cautious and reserved. However, her armor begins to fall when she meets her former classmate Eun-seob. He runs a small bookstore in the neighborhood.

He starts each day with a cup of freshly brewed coffee, and in the evenings hosts meetings of the literary club. Shared memories and new events change the characters, and with them, the rest of the villagers.

4. Our Blues, 2022

The drama tells the stories of the inhabitants of a small fishing town on Jeju Island. Each character has their own difficulties, dreams and desires, but they all inevitably affect each other's lives.

15 colorful characters are portrayed in broad strokes at first, but over time the viewer gets to know each of them better, and the characters' images become more distinct.

Episode by episode, the tangle of pain, anger, misunderstanding, emptiness, and resentment unravels, and our characters find their own healing. This drama is sure to touch the heart of even the most cynical viewer.

5. Mr. Sunshine, 2018

The series is set in the days before the Japanese occupation of Korea. After Eugene Choi's parents are killed by aristocrats, the boy, born into slavery, boards a warship and flees Joseon for America in 1871.

Decades have passed, and he is now a captain in the US Marines on a political mission to return to the homeland that once rejected him. He falls in love with an orphaned noblewoman who is training as a sharpshooter to serve in a civilian militia and fight the invaders.

6. Uncontrollably Fond, 2016

Joon-young and Noh Eul were separated as children, but they met again as adults. Now he is a popular actor and singer, and she is a documentary producer.

Joon-young is a spoiled star-boy whose behavior irritates Noh Eul. At the same time, both realize that they love each other and try to change the mistakes of the past. But the problem is that Joon-young is terminally ill and the lovers have very little time left.

7. My Mister, 2018

Ji-an is a young woman with high debts and a sick grandmother to take care of. She gets a temporary job at a construction company run by an ambitious CEO and ends up in the department of the boss, Park Dong-hoon.

Soon Ji-An finds herself in the middle of a scam that aims to eliminate the head of her department.

My Mister is definitely not a classic K-drama, as there is more sadness than entertainment. The series is dedicated to people who are trying to survive in Korean society with its high competition and large class gap.

8. The Red Sleeve, 2021-2022

Seong Deok-im lost her parents at an early age and ended up in the emperor's palace. For many years she was not only one of the maids but also a loyal friend of the future ruler.

Years later, Yi San prepares to ascend the throne. Now he wants Deok-im to become his concubine, but the woman refuses – she is not ready to share her beloved man with other women.

But the feelings between the two become stronger, so that the lovers violate numerous and centuries-old traditions of the palace, because they are not able to give each other up.

9. Youth of May, 2021

Medical student Hwang Hee-tae and nurse Kim Myung-hee meet on a blind date. A tender but sad romance begins between the young people, for it is May 1980. Soon, student activists will take to the streets of Gwangju and the government will brutally suppress their protest.

The drama tells about the terrible and painful events of South Korea in the 1980s – the Gwangju Uprising, during which hundreds of people died. For those interested, the series will be a real treat: dramas do not often turn to painful episodes of Korean history.

10. Queen of Tears, 2024

Lawyer Baek Hyun-woo marries Hong Hae-in, the daughter of a family that owns a company. But their love fades, leaving only problems in the marriage and coldness in the relationship.

Hyun-woo is ready to file for divorce, but suddenly it turns out that his wife is terminally ill. Further events will test the strength of the couple's relationship and open their eyes to their own feelings.

Queen of Tears is a kind of fairy tale about Cinderella and her life after marriage. The only difference is that the main character is not a woman, but a young man. The drama will tell how he will get out of a difficult situation, and most importantly – will he be able to become happy with his beloved.