More than four years after it premiered on Netflix, Crash Landing on You not only remains my favorite Korean drama of all time — it set the bar so high that I’ve yet to come across another show from the genre that lives up to it. The story of a South Korean heiress who literally crash-lands across the border after a hang-gliding accident and subsequently falls in love with a North Korean soldier, Crash Landing on You arrived just as the world was shutting down during the pandemic, and it was really the show that kicked off my interest in K-dramas thanks to everything from its stunning production value to its top-notch ensemble cast.
I know it sounds like I’m laying it on thick, but even all of the above still only scratches the surface of why us “CLoY” fans remain so bummed that there won’t be a second season of the show. That said, I’m nothing if not a glass-half-full kind of fellow, which is to say: Perhaps you can imagine my utter delight when I noticed that the writer of Netflix’s newest hit K-drama, Queen of Tears, is none other than Park Ji-eun — the same Park Ji-eun who wrote Crash Landing on You.
Her new show is a 16-episode romantic drama with two polar opposite leads (a mega-rich conglomerate nepo baby and her more humble lawyer husband) that reminds me of the lovers who came from two completely different worlds in Crash Landing on You. If anything could live up to my earlier favorite, surely one by the writer of Crash Landing on You has a good shot at doing so, right?
I don’t think any K-drama fan would fault me for declaring that Park Ji-eun’s name alone makes Queen of Tears worthy of addition to any K-drama fan’s watchlist. Moreover, the show’s release comes at an exciting time for fans of the genre who subscribe to Netflix. From the return of hit series like Gyeongseong Creature and Sweet Home, plus the debut of new gems like Chicken Nugget and now Queen of Tears, 2024 is definitely an exciting time to be a K-drama aficionado.
Here, meanwhile, are a couple of reasons to check out Queen of Tears, which is one of the biggest non-English Netflix shows in the world right now, according to the streamer’s latest weekly Top 10 data.
The top-tier cast and creative team
In addition to Park Ji-eun, the co-directors include Jang Young-woo and Kim Hee-won, both of whom worked on two very excellent and fan-favorite earlier K-dramas (Sweet Home and Vincenzo, respectively).
As for the cast, the stars include Kim Soo-hyun (from a little K-drama you might have heard of called It’s Okay to Not Be Okay) and Kim Ji-won (from Descendants of the Sun and Lovestruck in the City). Long story short, there is some serious talent here both in front of and behind the camera that makes Queen of Tears a must-watch.
Queen of Tears: The next great Korean rom-com
Stepping back now for a moment — if you enjoy romantic comedies, you’d be hard-pressed to find better examples than the kind that Netflix K-dramas provide. Queen of Tears fits right into a tradition that includes heart-warming and addictive rom-coms like Queen the Land, Start-Up, and Welcome to Samdal-ri, the latter being among the newer of these additions to the streamer.
As for what Queen of Tears is all about, Kim Soo-hyun plays a humble yet sharp lawyer who hails from a small village. Hong Hae-in, on the other hand, is a high-powered executive who lives like a queen, which makes sense because her family is one of the richest in South Korea and owns the Queens Group conglomerate.
The two of them met when they were both interns at the same company, had a meet-cute at a photocopier, fell in love, and got married. Per Netflix, “Just three years later, Hyun-woo’s attempts to please his wife are met with disdain, and he feels disenchanted by her and her impossible-to-please parents — so much so that he’s reconsidering the relationship. Hae-in, who’s always fiercely defended their love, can’t understand why Hyun-woo seems to be slipping away. It’s the last thing she ever expected.
“Then, an earth-shattering crisis happens that tests their bond even more. But maybe, just maybe, it’ll re-ignite their romance.”