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Queen of Tears

Queen of Tears (Korean: 눈물의 여왕) is a 2024 South Korean television series written by Park Ji-eun, co-directed by Jang Young-woo and Kim Hee-won, 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 from March 9, to April 28, 2024, every Saturday and Sunday at 21:20 (KST). It is also available for streaming on TVING in South Korea, and on Netflix 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 heiress of Queens Group, and Baek Hyun-woo, the son of farmers from Yongdu-ri, and their three years of marriage.

Cast

Main

Kim Soo-hyun as 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.
- Moon Seong-hyun as teen Baek Hyun-woo
- Choi Yi-an as child Baek Hyun-woo
Kim Ji-won as Hong Hae-in: Hyun-woo's wife and the CEO of Queens Department Store. She is a third-generation chaebol heiress and granddaughter of the Queens family.
- Hwang Ji-ah as teen Hong Hae-in
- Min Seo-hyung as child Hong Hae-in
Park Sung-hoon as Yoon Eun-sung / David Yoon: Hae-in's university acquaintance. He is a former Wall Street analyst and M&A expert who returns to South Korea as a famous investor.
- Lee Joo-won as child Yoon Eun-sung
Kwak Dong-yeon as Hong Soo-cheol: Hae-in's younger brother and CEO of Queens Mart.
- Kim Joon-eui as child Hong Soo-cheol
Lee Joo-bin as Cheon Da-hye: Soo-cheol's beautiful and elegant wife.
- Choi Na-rin as child Cheon Da-hye

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 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 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.
Park Yoon-hee 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.
Kim Do-hyun as Baek Hyun-tae: Hyun-woo's elder brother who runs a boxing gym.
Jang Yoon-ju 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 as Kang-mi: Chun-sik's wife and a regular customer at Mi-seon's beauty salon.
Lee Soo-ji 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 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.
Moon Tae-yu as Kim Yang-ki: a respected divorce lawyer. He is Hyun-woo's university friend and reliable supporter.
Jeong Ji-hwan 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.
Kwak Jin-seok 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.
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 as Liam Braun: a German doctor who has an interesting relationship with Hyun-woo and Hae-in.
Dieter Hallervorden as a Sanssouci Park guard
Song Joong-ki as Vincenzo Cassano: a lawyer.
Kim Shin-rok 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 Park Ji-eun 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 (2016), Mr. Sunshine (2018), and Sweet Home (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 Jang Young-woo, who worked on Crash Landing on You (2019–2020) and Bulgasal: Immortal Souls (2021–2022), and Kim Hee-won, who worked on Vincenzo (2021) and Little Women (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, Mapo District, Seoul.

Initially estimated at over ₩40 billion (US$34.97 million), the total budget of the series was ₩56 billion (US$48.95 million), costing ₩3.5 billion (US$3.06 million) 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, Kwak Dong-yeon, and Lee Joo-bin were cast in February and April 2023, respectively.

Filming

Principal photography 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, 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'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 was released on April 30, 2024; it contains all of the singles and background tracks from the series.

Tracklist

Singles

Singles included on the album were released from March 9, to April 27, 2024, and a special single from the series, "Way Home" (Korean: 청혼; lit. Marriage Proposal), sung by Kim Soo-hyun was released on April 29, 2024.

Chart performance

Release

Queen of Tears was originally part of tvN'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 streaming on TVING and Netflix.

Reception

Critical response

Forbes 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 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 five weeks. Queen of Tears amassed a total of 373.2 million hours during its broadcast run from March 9 to April 28.