In terms of Korean movies, my favorite (and definitely made me tear up) are:
The scene where Chul-soo is reading a letter left by Su-jin will make you bawl. I haven’t seen something so sad, yet so compelling and powerful in making you feel exactly how the couple loved one another in any movie. This is a tragic love story with an amazing end, but also one with a poignant topic that could affect many moving forward.
2 – The Letter
Since this list is about movies (or dramas) that will make you bawl, this movie deserves a much higher ranking given the topic. The movie is prescient in terms of how someone could potentially make their love last eternally. It’s honestly one of the reasons why I’m trying to build a platform that can hopefully make this happen digitally.
This movie surprised me. Not only did it have an incredibly unique plot, but when you get to the end, you’ll love what happens when they are reunited — at least you’ll do the “bawling” this list mentions is the criterion for some incredibly entertaining movies. On top of that, you’ll get to see most of Korea’s top celebrities all in one movie.
4 – The Classic
This used to be one of my favorite Korean romantic flicks. It still rates up there as you can see from the list I’ll share at the end. It tells an incredible love story which at the end leaves you wishing that life could have been different for this sweet couple.
5 – Il Mare
This movie tugged at the heart strings so strongly that it compelled western movie producers to create a version with 2 of America’s top actors: Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock. Unfortunately, the remake was horrible compared to the original. So, guess what? Watch the dang original and you’ll get to see a cinematic experience that should make you tear up as well.
6 – My Sassy Girl
You’d think this RomCom would be more funny than sad, but as you join in on the journey of the couple, you’ll find the end is one of the sweetest endings imagined. Before then, you wonder if these two will ever end up together and you’ll definitely find more to laugh about than the rest in this list, but it can easily make you shed a tear for this twosome that includes one of the most popular actresses in recent Korean history.
7 – Windstruck
Jun-jihyun makes another appearance in our list proving she’s good for romance. She’s also the female lead in the very popular Korean Drama “My Love from the Star.” In this story, “The heart-warming romance is between Kyungjin and Myungwoo. Even though he has passed away, he will be always with Kyungwoo forever.” There are connections between this movie and the former “My Sassy Girl” which is sometimes equated as the prequel to the movie.
8 – Be With You
The #1 movie in this list starred Son Ye-Jin and again, she stars in this romance flick. This is a remake of a Japanese film by the same name and writen by Takuji Ichikawa. “Soo-ah (Son Ye-jin) before she passed on, makes an unbelievable promise to her husband, Woo-jin (So Ji-sub), to return one year later at the start of the rainy season. Miraculously, she keeps the promise and reappears before her husband and son, but she has no memory recollection. Sadly, the relief at their reunion is short-lived, because it turns out that Soo-ah has to leave her family at the end of the rainy season.”
9 – Always
How far would you go to show your love? The protagonist in this movie goes to lengths that will make you wonder if any human in this world could show such love. You’ll be amazed at how the ex-boxer Chul-min shows his blind girlfriend how much he loves her.
10 – Architecture 101
Starring one of Korea’s most famous young actresses and one of Korea’s most famous female leads, this romance harks back at what “could have been” to what “could be today.” The story proves that love can be rekindled — or can it? You’ll have to see…
The rest are in the IMDB list of the top romantic films ever I created over the years.
If I have time, I’ll try and share some of the best Korean Dramas I’ve watched over the years including “Autumn in My Heart,” which I consider the first Korean drama that lead to today’s craze over Kdramas. The series peaked at almost HALF of Korea watching it at the time.
Korean filmakers/tv producers/writers TRULY know how to make you use your tear glands.