5 of the Most Heartbreaking K-Drama Endings in 2022
K-dramas are known for having decent endings or a happily ever after that makes the heart flutter. But fans have tagged 2022 as the year of popular K-dramas with the most heartbreaking endings, or at least less-than-desirable endings. Not only did Netflix’s Korean movie 20th Century Girl end on an upsetting finale, but K-dramas like The Red Sleeve go down as some of the most saddening to date. Make note the K-dramas in the list premiered their finale in 2022.
[SPOILER ALERT: Spoilers ahead regarding the K-dramas in the list.]
‘Snowdrop’ never got to see a complex love flourish outside of turmoil
The Disney+ K-drama Snowdrop aired its first episode on Dec. 18, 2021. During the Democratic Movement of 1987, Eun Yeong-ro (Jisoo) attends an all-female university and meets a handsome male named Lim Soo-ho (Jung Hae-in). While posing as a graduate student, he’s really a North Korean spy.
One night, Yeong-ro finds him wounded and bloody in her dorm room. Under the impression that he is a protestor, she and her friends hide him from the ANSP. As the K-drama progresses, Yeong-ro and the school are taken hostage by Soo-ho and his colleague. Taking over the school was part of the plan as the North and South entered a secret deal to control the presidential elections.
Snowdrop soon has one of the most heartbreaking endings for a K-drama in 2022. But problems arise when both Yeong-ro and Soo-ho fall in love. By the finale, the school is infiltrated, his own country betrays Soo-ho, and he dies protecting Yeong-ro.
Snowdrop is available on Disney+.
The 2022 K-drama ‘Thirty-Nine’ warns fans of its heartbreaking ending
The Netflix K-drama Thirty-Nine broke a few cardinal rules regarding how drama storylines work. While following a few tropes, the drama begins with heartache. Fans learn one of its central characters will die by the end. Thirty-Nine focuses on three lifelong friends on the cusp of turning 40.
Cha Mi-jo (Son Ye-jin) is a dermatologist with her own clinic, while her friend Jang Joo-hee (Kim Ji-hyun) is a sales worker at a department store. Their friend Jeong Chan-young (Jeon Mi-do) is an acting coach who once dreamed of being an actor. But tragedy strikes when a routine checkup reveals Chan-young has an advanced stage of cancer.
Not wanting treatment, Chan-young decides to live out the rest of her life and her dreams. Throughout Thirty-Nine, fans watch the characters face life with a new purpose under the daunting cloud that one will not live to grow old with them.
Thirty-Nine is available on Netflix.
‘Twenty-Five Twenty-One’ showed the reality of first love and adulthood
One of the year’s most talked-about K-dramas was Twenty-Five Twenty-One. The coming-of-age storyline focused on high school student Na Hee-do (Kim Tae-ri) during the IMF crisis of 1988. She meets Baek Yi-jin (Nam Joo-hyuk), who ventures to make a life on his own after his family goes bankrupt in the crisis.
The two characters venture on a journey of self-discovery as they grow into adulthood. But one of the main storylines of the K-drama is the brewing romance between Hee-do and Yi-jin. While older than Hee-do, Yi-jin keeps his emotions at bay and becomes a shoulder for her to cry on. But knowing Hee-do is still unsure of love, they remain friends.
At the stroke of a new year, Hee-do takes the plunge and kisses him. They begin a romance that starts to drift apart due to the challenges of adulthood. Twenty-Five Twenty-One has an ongoing mystery as fans are unaware of who is the father of Hee-do’s present-day daughter. While hopeful, fans witness the end of their love story full of tears, goodbyes, and first love.
Twenty-Five Twenty-One is available on Netflix.
‘Big Mouth’ is a 2022 crime K-drama with a heartbreaking ending no one expected
The crime-thriller K-drama Big Mouth has inarguably one of the most heartbreaking endings. Park Chang-ho (Lee Jong-suk) is a dedicated lawyer but tends to speak before he thinks. He is happily married to his supportive wife and nurse, Ko Mi-ho (Im Yoon-ah). Chang-ho soon gets caught up in a murder case that has him going to prison to uncover a conspiracy.
While there, he looks for a crime boss named Big Mouse. In the confusion of looking for answers, the prisoners believe Chang-ho is the big crime boss, and he runs with it. His journey into organized crime takes hold of his and his wife’s life. By the finale of Big Mouth, fans never expected the grand twist.
During a press conference, Mi-ho reveals she is dying from cancer caused by radiation from an underground drainage pipe exploding. The 2022 K-drama’s ending has Mi-ho dying from cancer and Chang-ho saying he loves her one last time.
Big Mouth is available on Hulu.
‘The Red Sleeve’ has a king deeply in love king lose his only love
Lee Jun-ho’s K-drama The Red Sleeve aired in 2021 but ended its run in 2022. It told the story of a prince on his way to becoming king. Yi San (Lee), later King Jeongjo, has hardened his heart after being raised by his strict grandfather. He believes his only duty is to the country and does not wish to love. Meanwhile, Seong Deok-im (Lee Se-young) is a royal court maid who wants to protect the life she has made for herself.
But when she meets the prince, they begin a complex journey to love within the confines of the palace. While Deok-im vows to protect Yi San no matter the cost, she refuses to accept her love for him. But Yi San has no problem confessing his feelings and wishes to have her as his concubine. Deok-im battles her heart and her livelihood.
By the finale of The Red Sleeve, fans get the most heartbreaking K-drama ending of 2022. Deok-im agrees to stay by Yi San’s side as his concubine. While living happily and birthing a son, she misses her freedom. Time passes, her son passes away, and Deok-im falls ill and dies, leaving Yi San alone. His heart is broken, and unable to love again.
The Red Sleeve is available on Viki.
