''Queen of Tears'' () is a 2024

South Korean television series Korean dramas (; RR: ''Han-guk deurama''), more popularly known as K-dramas, are television series in the Korean language, made in South Korea. They are popular worldwide, especially in Asia, partially due to the spread of Korean popular cultu ...

written by

Park Ji-eun Park Ji-eun (born 1976) is a South Korean television screenwriter. She wrote the hit Korean dramas ''Queen of Housewives'' (2009), ''My Husband Got a Family'' (2012), ''My Love from the Star'' (2013–2014), '' The Producers'' (2015), ''The Leg ...

, co-directed by and

Kim Hee-won Kim Hee-won (born January 10, 1971) is a South Korean actor. Since 2007, he has played supporting roles in films and television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which ...

, and starring Kim Soo-hyun and Kim Ji-won. The series depicts the story of a married couple in a crisis. It aired on

tvN TVN may refer to: * TVN (Australian TV channel), a former horse racing channel * Televisión Nacional de Chile, a public broadcaster * TVN (Indonesia), a former television station; predecessor of Rajawali Televisi * TVN (Norway), or TVNorge, a comm ...

from March 9, to April 28, 2024, every Saturday and Sunday at 21:20 ( KST). It is also available for

streaming Streaming media is multimedia that is delivered and consumed in a continuous manner from a source, with little or no intermediate storage in network elements. ''Streaming'' refers to the delivery method of content, rather than the content it ...

TVING TVING () is a South Korean online streaming service operated by TVING Corporation, a joint venture of CJ E&M (CJ Group), Naver and JTBC. It is a platform that streams dramas, entertainment shows, exclusive television films and specials. Histor ...

in South Korea, and on

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

in selected regions. ''Queen of Tears'' reached a nationwide rating of 24.850% for its final episode and became the highest-rated tvN series, surpassing '' Crash Landing on You''. It also became the third highest-rated series in Korean cable television history for viewership ratings and the second highest by number of viewers.

Synopsis

The series depicts the crisis and rekindling of love between Hong Hae-in, a third-generation

chaebol A chaebol (, ; ) is a large industrial South Korean conglomerate run and controlled by an individual or family. A chaebol often consists of multiple diversified affiliates, controlled by a person or group whose power over the group often exc ...

heiress of Queens Group, and Baek Hyun-woo, the son of farmers from Yongdu-ri, and their three years of marriage.

Cast and characters

Main

* Kim Soo-hyun as Baek Hyun-woo ** Moon Seong-hyun as teen Baek Hyun-woo ** Choi Yi-an as child Baek Hyun-woo : Hae-in's husband and the legal director of Queens Group. He was born in the rural area of Yongdu-ri and became a lawyer after graduating from

Seoul National University Seoul National University (SNU; ) is a national public research university located in Seoul, South Korea. Founded in 1946, Seoul National University is largely considered the most prestigious university in South Korea; it is one of the three "S ...

. * Kim Ji-won as Hong Hae-in ** as teen Hong Hae-in ** Min Seo-hyung as child Hong Hae-in : Hyun-woo's wife and the CEO of Queens Department Store. She is a third-generation

heiress and granddaughter of the Queens family. * Park Sung-hoon as Yoon Eun-sung / David Yoon ** Lee Joo-won as child Yoon Eun-sung : Hae-in's university acquaintance. He is a former

Wall Street Wall Street is an eight-block-long street in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs between Broadway in the west to South Street and the East River in the east. The term "Wall Street" has become a metonym for t ...

analyst and M&A expert who returns to South Korea as a famous investor. *

Kwak Dong-yeon Kwak Dong-yeon (; born 19 March 1997), is a South Korean actor and musician. He made his acting debut in the television series ''My Husband Got a Family'' in 2012 for which he received Best Young Actor Award at the Korea Drama Awards. He then st ...

as Hong Soo-cheol ** Kim Joon-eui as child Hong Soo-cheol : Hae-in's younger brother and CEO of Queens Mart. * Lee Joo-bin as Cheon Da-hye ** Choi Na-rin as child Cheon Da-hye : Soo-cheol's beautiful and elegant wife.

Supporting

Hae-in's family

* Kim Kap-soo as Hong Man-dae : Hae-in's grandfather and the chairman of Queens Group. * Lee Mi-sook as Moh Seul-hee : Man-dae's live-in girlfriend. *

Jung Jin-young Jung Jin-young may refer to: * Jung Jin-young (actor) (born 1964), South Korean actor * Jung Jin-young (singer) Jung Jin-young (; born November 18, 1991), professionally known as Jinyoung, is a South Korean singer, songwriter, record producer ...

as Hong Beom-jun : Hae-in's father and the vice-chairman of Queens Group. * Na Young-hee as Kim Seon-hwa : Hae-in's mother. *

Kim Jung-nan Kim Jung-nan (born Kim Hyun-ah on July 16, 1971) is a South Korean actress. Kim made her acting debut in 1991, but received a new surge of popularity after starring in ''A Gentleman's Dignity ''A Gentleman's Dignity'' () is a 2012 South Korean ...

as Hong Beom-ja : Hae-in's blunt and fierce aunt. * Goo Shi-woo as Hong Geon-u : Soo-cheol and Da-hye's son. * as Hong Beom-seok : Hae-in's uncle and the former CEO of Queens Distribution. * Ko Dong-ha as Hong Su-wan : Hae-in's late elder brother.

Hyun-woo's family

* Jeon Bae-soo as Baek Du-gwan : Hyun-woo's father and the head of Yongdu-ri. * Hwang Young-hee as Jeon Bong-ae : Hyun-woo's mother. * as Baek Hyun-tae : Hyun-woo's elder brother who runs a boxing gym. *

Jang Yoon-ju Jang Yoon-ju (born November 7, 1980) is a South Korean model, television personality, singer-songwriter and actress. Yoon-ju began modeling in 1997 when she was 17 years old, and became one of the most successful Korean fashion models, with a c ...

as Baek Mi-seon : Hyun-woo's elder sister who runs a beauty salon. * Kim Dong-ha as Baek Ho-yeol : Hyun-tae's son.

Yongdu-ri

* Kim Young-min as Yong-song : A selfless person similar to Oh Eun-young. * Park Jung-pyo as Chun-sik : Kang-mi's husband and Du-gwan's political right-hand man. * Shim Woo-sung as Park Seok-hoon : President of Yongdu-ri Youth Association and Du-gwan's rival. *

Park Sung-yeon Park Sung-yeon is a South Korean actress. She is known for her roles in dramas such as ''Love Alarm'', ''Mine'', ''Abyss'', '' Reflection of You'', ''Do Do Sol Sol La La Sol'' and '' Record of Youth''. She also appeared in movies ''The Silenc ...

as Kang-mi : Chun-sik's wife and a regular customer at Mi-seon's beauty salon. * as Bang-sil : Hyun-woo's childhood friend from church and a regular customer at Mi-seon's beauty salon. * Lee Ji-hye as Hyun-jung : A regular customer at Mi-seon's beauty salon. * Kim Do-jin as a boxing student

Others

Kim Joo-ryoung Kim Joo-ryoung (; born September 10, 1976) is a South Korean actress. She is mainly known for portraying Han Mi-nyeo or Player No. 212 in the Netflix original web series ''Squid Game''. For her performance, she was nominated for Best Actress in ...

as Grace Ko / Ko Jeong-ja : A private secretary who is in charge of the Queens family's affairs. * Yoon Bo-mi as Na Chae-yeon : Hae-in's secretary. * as Kim Yang-ki : A respected divorce lawyer. He is Hyun-woo's university friend and reliable supporter. * as Kim Min-gyu : Hyun-woo's secretary.

Extended

* Seo Sang-won as Park Jin-guk : Hae-in's doctor. * Shim Hye-rim as Kim Min-ji : An employee at the Queens Department Store cosmetics section. * as Pyeon Seong-uk : The CEO of a real estate agency who join hands with Eun-sung.

Special appearances

* Oh Jung-se as Lee Min-woo : Hyun-woo's

psychiatrist A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry, the branch of medicine devoted to the diagnosis, prevention, study, and treatment of mental disorders. Psychiatrists are physicians and evaluate patients to determine whether their sy ...

. * Im Chul-soo as a private investigator hired by Beom-jun to follow Hyun-woo * Ko Kyu-pil as a private investigator hired by Beom-jun to follow Hyun-woo * Heo Tae-hee * Seo Ye-hwa as Kim Ye-na : CEO of Royal Department Store. *

Sebastian Roché Sebastian Roché (born 4 August 1964) is a French-American actor. He is known for his roles as Kurt Mendel in ''Odyssey 5'', Jerry Jacks in '' General Hospital'', Thomas Jerome Newton in ''Fringe'', Balthazar in '' Supernatural'', Mikael in bot ...

as Liam Braun : A German doctor who has an interesting relationship with Hyun-woo and Hae-in. *

Dieter Hallervorden Dieter "Didi" Hallervorden (born 5 September 1935) is a German comedian, actor, singer, and cabaret artist. He achieved great popularity in German-speaking countries in the mid-1970s with the slapstick series Nonstop Nonsens and his character Did ...

as a

Sanssouci Park Sanssouci Park is a large park surrounding Sanssouci Palace in Potsdam, Germany, built under Frederick the Great in the mid-1700s. Following the terracing of the vineyard and the completion of the palace, the surroundings were included in the stru ...

guard * Song Joong-ki as Vincenzo Cassano : A lawyer. *

Kim Shin-rok Kim Shin-rok ( ko, 김신록; born 1981) is a South Korean actress. She gained recognition for her supporting roles in 2021 television series '' Beyond Evil'', '' Hellbound,'' and ''One Ordinary Day''. Education After graduating from the Depa ...

as Hyeon-suk : Hyun-tae's wife. * Hong Jin-kyung as private investigator Hong : Owner of Hong Gil-dong Detective Agency and was hired by Beom-jun to follow Hae-in in Germany. * Jo Se-ho as private investigator Hong's right-hand man * Nam Chang-hee as private investigator Hong's left-hand man

Production

Development

Screenwriter

started preparing her new project entitled ''Queen of Tears'' about two years after finishing '' Crash Landing on You'' (2019–2020), which starred Hyun Bin and Son Ye-jin. Lee Eung-bok, who has directed hit dramas such as '' Guardian: The Lonely and Great God'' (2016–2017), ''

Descendants of the Sun ''Descendants of the Sun'' () is a 2016 South Korean television series starring Song Joong-ki, Song Hye-kyo, Jin Goo, and Kim Ji-won. It aired on KBS2 from February 24 to April 14, 2016 for 16 episodes. KBS then aired three additional specia ...

'' (2016), '' Mr. Sunshine'' (2018), and ''

Sweet Home Sweet Home or Sweethome may refer to: Places in the United States * Sweet Home, Arkansas * Sweet Home Central School District in Amherst and Tonawanda, New York ** Sweet Home High School (Amherst, New York), a New York State public high school * ...

'' (2020–present), was reportedly in talks to join the team at that time. Studio Dragon confirmed that the production of ''Queen of Tears'' would start in the first half of 2023, and the series was expected to be released in the second half of 2023. It is co-directed by , who worked on ''Crash Landing on You'' (2019–2020) and '' Bulgasal: Immortal Souls'' (2021–2022), and

, who worked on ''

Vincenzo Vincenzo is an Italian male given name, derived from the Latin name Vincentius (the verb ''vincere'' means to win or to conquer). Notable people with the name include: Art * Vincenzo Amato (born 1966), Italian actor and sculptor *Vincenzo Bell ...

'' (2021) and ''

Little Women ''Little Women'' is a coming-of-age novel written by American novelist Louisa May Alcott (1832–1888). Alcott wrote the book, originally published in two volumes in 1868 and 1869, at the request of her publisher. The story follows the lives ...

'' (2022). Aside from Studio Dragon, the series is also co-produced by Culture Depot and Showrunners. The first script reading was conducted on March 30, 2023, near

Sangam-dong Sangam-dong is a legal '' dong'' (neighborhood) of the Mapo District in Seoul, South Korea. In the wake of the 2002 FIFA World Cup, a large apartment complex and DMC business district have been created and developed into the center of western Seou ...

, Mapo District,

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...

. Initially estimated at over , the total budget of the series was , costing per episode.

Casting

In April 2022, Park Ji-eun proposed the female lead role in her new project to Lee Ji-eun, but the offer was declined. Kim Soo-hyun received a proposal for the male lead role the next day. The appearances of Kim Soo-hyun and Kim Ji-won were officially confirmed in December 2022. This is the third collaboration between Park and Kim Soo-hyun, after '' My Love from the Star'' (2013–2014) and '' The Producers'' (2015). Park Sung-hoon,

, and Lee Joo-bin were cast in February and April 2023, respectively.

Filming

Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as actor ...

took place between April and December 2023, across various cities in South Korea and Germany.

Original soundtrack

The soundtrack of the series, led by music director Nam Hye-seung and featuring artists

BSS BSS may stand for: Computing and telecommunications * .bss ("Block Started by Symbol"), in compilers and linkers * Base station subsystem, in mobile telephone networks * Basic Service Set, the basic building block of a wireless local area networ ...

, 10cm, Heize, Crush, Isaac Hong, Kim Na-young, Paul Kim, Choi Yu-ree, So Su-bin, and Dori, was revealed on March 6, 2024.

Zerobaseone Zerobaseone (; stylized in all caps; abbreviated as ZB1) is a South Korean boy band formed through Mnet's reality competition ''Boys Planet'' in 2023. They are managed by WakeOne. The group is composed of nine members: Kim Ji-woong, Zhang Hao, ...

's Kim Tae-rae also participated in the soundtrack, while the series' lead actor, Kim Soo-hyun, lend his voice for the first time in 10 years.

Album

''Queen of Tears''

soundtrack album A soundtrack album is any album that incorporates music directly recorded from the soundtrack of a particular feature film or television show. The first such album to be commercially released was Walt Disney's ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs'' ...

was released on April 30, 2024; it contains all of the

singles Singles are people not in a committed relationship. Singles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series * ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe * ''Singles'' ...

and background tracks from the series.

Tracklist

Chart performance

Singles

Singles included on the album were released from March 9, to April 27, 2024, and a special single from the series, "Way Home" (), sung by Kim Soo-hyun was released on April 29, 2024. Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Special track

Chart performance

Release

''Queen of Tears'' was originally part of

's 2023 drama lineup and was scheduled for broadcast in December 2023 however due to the changes in the networks' Saturday–Sunday lineup, it was moved to the first half of 2024. According to a ''Metro Seoul'' article, the series was rescheduled to air in March 2024; this piece of news was confirmed when tvN released its 2024 drama lineup. It was later confirmed that the release date would be on March 9, 2024, at 21:20 ( KST) and that the series would also be available for

and

Reception

Critical response

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...

'' wrote that "many K-dramas end with 'happily ever after', but ''Queen of Tears'' starts that way", adding that the series "not only has a solid cast, but boasts a talented screenwriter and two directors with a track record of drama success". Tanu I. Raj of ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' gave the series 3 out of 5 stars and described it as "a whirlwind office romance", which is "buoyant and decidedly comic".

Viewership

''Queen of Tears'' ranked seventh in Netflix's Global Top 10 TV (Non-English) category two days after its release and received a warm response from 12 countries, with 3.3 million hours watched by 1.2 million viewers in its first week. It remained on the chart for the second and third week, respectively. On its fourth week, the series topped the chart with 41.4 million hours watched by 4.3 million viewers, and remained on the chart for the next 10 consecutive weeks. ''Queen of Tears'' amassed a total of 373.2 million hours during its broadcast run from March 9 to April 28.Netflix Global Top 10 TV (Non-English): * Week 5: * Week 6: * Week 7: * Week 8:

Accolades

Awards and nominations

Listicles

Notes

References

External links

* * * * {{Works by Studio Dragon 2024 South Korean television series debuts 2024 South Korean television series endings Korean-language Netflix exclusive international distribution programming Korean-language television shows South Korean pre-produced television series South Korean romantic comedy television series Television series by Culture Depot Television series by Studio Dragon Television shows filmed in Germany Television shows filmed in South Korea Television shows written by Park Ji-eun TvN (South Korean TV channel) television dramas