“Even if I was reborn a hundred times, I’d still marry you every single time.”
Note: This review contains a few spoilers.
tvN’s Queen Of Tears (2024) tells the miraculous and humorous love story of a married couple who overcomes trials and stays together against all odds, starring A-listers Kim Soo-hyun and Kim Ji-won.
It started airing on March 9th via South Korea’s cable channel, tvN, with simultaneous release on Netflix worldwide. Besides the high global viewership ratings on Netflix, the drama is also garnering top scores on tvN network. During its 12th episode on April 14th, the drama reached 20.732% nationwide, becoming the second highest drama rating of tvN, next to Crash Landing On You (2019-2020), which scored 21.683% on its final episode. *Ratings are based on Nielsen Korea’s nationwide record.
Having seen twelve episodes thus far, here are some key points and insights about the drama:
Screenplay / Plotline
tvN’s Queen Of Tears (2024) is written by Park Ji Eun, the famous screenwriter of the hit dramas, My Love From The Star (2013–14), The Legend Of The Blue Sea (2016), and Crash Landing On You (2019-2020). She is known for her bittersweet romance content that evokes emotions and captures attention, with her main protagonists that often come from two different worlds that overcome the hurdles, the forbidden, and the impossible in relationships.
Meanwhile, the drama is helmed by Jang Young Woo who directed Sweet Home (2020), Bulgasal: Immortal Souls (2021), and Kim Hee Won who directed Vincenzo (2021).
The narrative highlights the journey of a couple who faces feelings of stagnation and a growing distance towards their third year of marriage, yet strives hard to reconcile amid a series of unexpected twists in their personal life and family’s business, Queen’s Group.
Suffocated by the increasing emotional strains between him and his wife, Baek Hyun Woo (Kim Soo-hyun) decides to process divorce. However, he puts this desire aside as he learns that his wife Hong Hae In (Kim Ji-won) is suffering from a rare brain disease with a predicted life expectancy of three months.
As Baek Hyun Woo (Kim Soo-hyun) begins to assist Hong Hae In (Kim Ji-won) with her medical needs, love long forgotten deep within him awakens — he begins to protect her, care for her, run for her, defend her, and save her from life-threatening situations — until the high walls between them slowly begin to crumble and the love they once felt for each other miraculously blossoms once again.
And yet, as they start to slowly enliven their dying marriage, a series of conflicts arise that involve the antagonists surrounding their families and Queens Group. Baek Hyun Woo (Kim Soo-hyun) makes a strong stand to stay by Hong Hae In’s (Kim Ji-won) side and save the company at all costs.
I liked how it transitions from the glitz and glamour of Hong Hae In’s (Kim Ji-won) family in the city of Seoul to the warm and humble life of Baek Hyun Woo’s (Kim Soo-hyun) community in the countryside.
The idea of two different worlds, bossy woman, countryside man, love triangle, childhood encounters, nosy neighborhood, greed of the elite, and the antagonists who try to steal the company may seem old or recycled. Nevertheless, the story still captivates you overall because it focuses on the ups and downs of marriage, the whirlwind of emotions that married couples experience, which Kim Soo-hyun and Kim Ji-won perfectly portrayed.
Moreover, the drama’s direction, editing, and turn of events are seamlessly done — enough to captivate you and keep you on the edge of your seat, feeling in love, hurt, pissed, and other times you find yourself laughing, giggling, and crying like a queen. The epilogue in every episode always delivers with satisfaction, while waiting for another week to see what happens next feels like a torture, because the story is that engaging.
Characters / Performances
Let me start by saying that Kim Soo-hyun truly deserves that spot as one of the strong candidates for Best Actor in TV at the prestigious award ceremony, Baeksang Arts Awards, which will be held in May 2024.
Kim Soo-hyun plays a simple character, a struggling husband and smart Legal Director of Queens Group, but delivers a powerful onscreen presence, permeating warmth, depth, and authenticity into his performance. Impeccable! I’ve seen him play various drama roles but he captivated me this time as Baek Hyun Woo.
My oh my! The way he acts with his eyes full of emotions and the way he shifts from one emotion to another are all on point! He melts your heart, makes you shed tears, puts a smile on your face, and ultimately, he just makes your heart race overall!
Similarly, Kim Ji-won stands out as Hong Hae-in, the icy CEO of Queens Group, the detached wife and daughter, but the most favorite granddaughter who unexpectedly gets stricken with a rare illness. She can convey hardness amid vulnerability, pain amid her wall of toughness, love amid pride, and insecurity despite a strong facade, especially when she falls into the embrace of her husband whom she loves deeply.
Besides her excellent portrayal of Hong Hae-in, her mesmerizing beauty also pierces through the screen, adding charms to the drama overall. I’ve seen her play Choi Ae-ra in Fight For My Way (2017), Tanya in Arthdal Chronicles (2019), and Yeom Mi-jeong in My Liberation Notes (2022) and she’s always proven herself as a versatile actress who knows and delivers her assignment well. She’s a stunner and beloved actress!
The chemistry between Kim Soo-hyun and Kim Ji-won is also one of the strongest points of the show. It’s both heartbreaking and heartwarming to watch their relationship shift from attachment to detachment and from aloofness to closeness. To add, their adorable struggles of expressing love for each other in withdrawn and vulnerable moments. Even the simple actions of drying the hair, sending each other a text message, treating wounds, they just simply evoke emotions and tug at the heartstrings.
With the leads’ oozing visuals and striking performances, I believe they have become one of the most powerful and swoonworthy drama pairs of all time, that you can’t help but wish they consider romance in real life.
The side characters are also worth praising for their given roles. You can see growth as the story progresses besides them adding fun to the drama. Special mention to Kwak Dong-yeon for his moving portrayal of a weak but warm son of Queens Group, who loves without conditions and biases.
Message
I liked how tvN’s Queen of Tears (2024) highlights the struggles of a married couple who come from different worlds with contrasting personalities. And yes, how it is specific with time, the three-year marriage struggles, which the non-married viewers may not understand.
We can see that three years into their marriage life, both Baek Hyun Woo (Kim Soo-hyun) and Hong Hae-in (Kim Ji-won) begin to neglect each other as husband and wife. They sleep in separate rooms, act like strangers both at home and in the office, and their lack of communication worsens overtime.
In my opinion, the couple may have reached the phase where the sparks of honeymoon has faded away, hitting relational boredom, which the experts or therapists call “the three-year itch”. It’s a crucial time when pressure points, significant transitions, or unresolved conflicts start to arise, causing physical or emotional distance in relationships. More so when it is coupled with an unhealed trauma in the past.
Hong Hae-in (Kim Ji-won) is a third generation heiress of Queens Group who grew up with an emotionally detached mother and a complex family whose eyes are only set on the integrity of their image and wealth. She has learned to become like this tough wall, cold and emotionless, that manifests in the way she treats the people around her, especially her husband.
However, she is not completely emotionless, but rather, she’s just an insecure woman who needed the assurance of love, a self-sufficient woman who yearns the need to be heard when she’s in pain — that she’s protected, valued, thought of — that it’s okay to be vulnerable or to fall sometimes. I liked how she braves vulnerability when she finally faces her mother, speaking healing words to one another.
Meanwhile, Baek Hyun Woo (Kim Soo-hyun) is an ordinary man from the countryside nurtured well with warmth and emotional support. He is intelligent, skilled at boxing and swimming, looked up as a great Legal Director of Queens Group, but struggles to be around his emotionally detached wife and his wife’s domineering family. He’s ready to let go of her and the family for the sake of his mental health and comfort. And it’s fully human and realistic for him to feel this way.
However, we can see that within him lies deep love for his wife as unexpected turn of events unfold right before his eyes. This nurtured love awakens him to act, move, protect, shield, and let go of his pride and own needs for the sake of his wife who needed him the most. He even goes the extra mile to help the family survive a bad fall.
I’m not married or have never been married so I can’t really speak from experience. But I’ve witnessed or listened to a lot of marriage stories and I can attest that there are moments that married couples become strangers, and how relationships can be really challenging moving forward. This is because two individuals don’t just get married for love, but their different personalities, struggles, unhealed traumas, and families also become one, often creating clash and conflicts.
Overall, the drama reminds us that marriage isn’t always a bed of roses and that the one you fell in love with won’t always be loveable, who may even become a stranger one day. What’s great is that amid depicting the struggles of marriage, it also shows that rekindling of love is possible between two individuals who are willing to let go of pride and recommit to just love unconditionally.
“I don’t know what love means to you. But to me, it’s not about being happy and whispering sweet nothings. Love is when you endure the pain together. When you choose to stay instead of running away. Even if they have a debt or something more than that, you still stick together. That’s love.”
Conclusion
tvN’s Queen of Tears (2024) is a romance drama that fully captivates you with its engaging storyline, powerful and moving performances of Kim Soo-hyun and Kim Ji-won, and excellent production in its entirety, including cinematography and the musical score that draws you deeper to the couple’s heartwarming journey.
It’s one of the best of the best Korean dramas you’ll ever come across! Highly recommended! Don’t miss it!
A review by Myra Bansale for KORB Blog | Instagram | Twitter
Screenwriter: Park Ji Eun | Directors: Jang Young Woo, Kim Hee Won | Original network: tvN | Available on: Netflix | Images: tvN Drama
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