Top Korean Dramas That Begin With Pain But End in Love Between Man and Woman!

Some love stories are initiated with a flutter — others with scars. In the world of Korean dramas, some of the most amazing romances are built out of heartbreak, sorrow, guilt, and regret. They begin in the ashes of something that's been lost, but with time, love blooms there. These are the types of stories that remind us that even in the darkest recesses of life, love will find its way to bloom.

Below are 12 Korean dramas whose beginning is pain, whose end is love — stories of man and woman who fight their pasts, their worlds, and sometimes themselves, only to know that what they have is true and worth keeping.

1. Just Between Lovers (2017–2018)

Both are survivors of a fatal building collapse. Lee Gang-doo and Ha Moon-soo have scars too deep for love to be possible in the first place. Yet through shared suffering, they heal. Theirs is not a boisterous love — sweet, gradual, and redemptive.

2. My Mister (2018)

A grizzled middle-aged guy and a debt-ridden young lady form an unlikely bond. The love here is not shiny or quick — it's taciturn, deep-soul, and also rescuing. Watching them transition from broken-down strangers to something akin to home is just irreplaceable.

3. Uncontrollably Fond (2016)

Shin Joon-young is on his deathbed, and Noh Eul is the woman he wronged. Their reunion is bitter, with misunderstandings and emotional distance aplenty. But as the secrets unfold, the only thing left is a love so heartbreaking and innocent that it clings to you even after it ends.

4. Scarlet Heart: Ryeo (2016)

Go Ha-jin takes us back to the Goryeo Dynasty and transforms into Hae Soo, entangled in palace politics and heart-wrenching love. Her romance with the tormented 4th Prince Wang So begins with fear and sacrifice. In spite of fate's cruel jokes, their love is heartbreakingly beautiful.

5. Youth of May (2021)

Against the political instability background, this drama documents the love life of Hee-tae and Myung-hee — a guilty conscience male and a burdened female. They meet at the wrong time, but their love is true, unadulterated, and heartbreakingly fate-ordained.

6. It's Okay to Not Be Okay (2020)

Moon Gang-tae, the caretaker of his autistic brother, and Ko Moon-young, a writer with deep emotional wounds, clash like fire and ice. But beneath their pain is something they never expected — a love that will lead them both to learn to live and love again.

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7. The Smile Has Left Your Eyes (2018)

Kim Moo-young seems dangerous, unknowable. Yoo Jin-kang has her reasons to stay away. But fate doesn’t listen. Their love is intense, painful, and twisted by tragedy — yet so deeply human it’s impossible not to root for them, even as the darkness closes in.

8. The World of the Married (2020)

Adultery. Deception. Rage. Ji Sun-woo and Lee Tae-oh start in pure pandemonium. But after the dust settles, what is left isn't just hatred — it's the bittersweet recollection of love, and the cost they had to pay for it. It's no fairy tale, but it's painfully real.

9. Come and Hug Me (2018)

A police officer and a woman whose parents were murdered by his father — it's a setup that reeks of tragedy. But by guilt, trauma, and separation, Na Moo and Nak Won never lose love for each other. Theirs is a testament that even the darkest of pasts cannot extinguish true love.

10. When the Camellia Blooms (2019)

Dong-baek, a single mother ostracized by her hometown, meets Yong-sik, a policeman who falls in love with her at first sight. Her hurt and suffering run deep, but his love is long-lasting, soft, and warm. Their romance grows sweetly out of her pains.

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11. The Red Sleeve (2021–2022)

He is crown prince, she is court lady. Their union is forbidden and based on layers of sorrow, misconceptions, and longing. But the chemistry between Yi San and Deok-im defies time — self-controlled yet powerful, and based on self-sacrifice that becomes love.

12. A Piece of Your Mind (2020)

Ha Won is glum, shy of emotions, mourning an unrequited love. Han Seo-woo brings music back into his life. The two meet slowly, almost inaudibly, out of shared pain and isolation. What begins silently grows warm, true, and lasting.

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