When we are depressed or ill, we all want to be understood and understood more than anything else. In these situations, listening to sorrowful music is one of the most commonly used methods of feeling understood. After all, why not branch out and listen to something different than the usual old melancholy songs?
We’re talking about K-Pop, which is currently one of the most popular musical genres on the market. On this page, you will find a selection of fifteen of the best sad K-Pop songs that you may use as a reference in the most difficult of circumstances. Let’s go check what’s on our list together!
1. Haru Haru by Big Bang
The song “Haru Haru” released in 2008 is part of the music album “Stand up” by the band Bing Bang. This song is a classic of the K-Pop music genre, loved by all people who listen to this genre and appreciated, in general, even by all those who do not listen mainly to this genre.
The song tells the story of a girl who finds out that she has cancer and discovers that there is no chance of a cure for her. To avoid making her boyfriend suffer too much, she pretends to cheat on him with a friend of his so that he doesn’t suffer the loss of a loved one.
2. Wind by FT Island
This song was released in 2017 on FT Island’s album “Over 10 Years”. The song “Wind” tells the story of a boy who suffers from love for being left by his girlfriend. At the beginning of the song, the boy dedicates some words to his ex-girlfriend.
After that, he describes his deep sorrow explaining in detail all the pain he feels for this experience that seems devastating.
Expert Tip: This song in addition to being highly appreciated by the public was nominated for Best Song of the Year and Best Performance at the Mnet Asian Music Awards.
3. Forever Rain – RM (BTS)
One of the most popular songs in the K-Pop genre, published by the BTS frontman rapper in his mixtape of the same name. “Forever Rain” is one of the most renowned songs in the genre. With a sluggish pace playing in the background, you can see the main character going around in the rain in the music video for “Walking in the Rain.”
The song depicts the singer’s feeling and willingness to take time for himself, being alone in the rain and watching the sky. This song was written as a result of the singer’s dissatisfaction and stress at constantly being in the spotlight and at the center of attention, as well as his inability to maintain his privacy and his constant judgment by the general public, journalists, and music critics.
4. Beautiful Pain by BTOB
“Beautiful Pain”, a song by BTOB, released in 2018 and featured on the music album “Hour Moment” is another sad k-pop song about the pain of a love ending.
Overall, the song is about the cycle of love in general, rather than focusing on a particular relationship. The song “Beautiful Pain” talks about the numerous stages of being in love: the first months, the first conflicts, the troubles you have between partners, and the regret you have after a time for terminating that love story. It is a love song about falling in love.
The song video depicts a variety of people reflecting on their past relationships with their former companions, bringing forth the agony of remembering something that has passed and will never return.
5. What Do I Do? by Jisun
This song became particularly famous for being the soundtrack to the Korean TV series “Boys Before Flowers.” The song perfectly describes a mixture of emotions consisting of sadness and guilt.
Even if you haven’t seen the TV series, the song’s beauty and singing ability will move you. making it a perfect k-pop song to listen to in solitude on a gray day. In the music video of Jisun’s song you can see some scenes from the TV series “Boys Before Flowers”.
6. Downpour by I.O.I
This song was published in 2017 and was one of the most popular singles by the Korean pop group I.O.I. In contrast to the other songs, this one is not about a specific sad occurrence like a breakup in a relationship.
In summary, the song ’Downpour” is about all of the difficulties, memories, and accomplishments they have had as a group, as well as how difficult times can alter people. At the end of the song, however, it expresses the notion that all challenges, no matter how difficult and arduous they are to conquer, are only temporary.
For example, difficult times are compared to a summer downpour that appears to be very violent, but which eventually subsides and allows the sun to shine once again.
7. House of Cards by BTS
This song by BTS released in 2018 is still about love, but about a specific condition. “House of Cards” talks about the pain and suffering within a relationship punctuated by constant fighting. The two people do not fit together but do not break up for fear of being alone.
Despite this, the pain they feel from this toxic relationship becomes greater and greater until it consumes the soul of the two lovers. This remains an ever-relevant song since the world is full of people living with this condition who say they are only trying to make a relationship work because they are not ready to give up.
8. Falling Blossoms by Min Kyung Hoon and Kim Hee Chul
This song is another K-Pop classic, garnering a lot of success from the audience who love this genre. The song is very slow and quiet and the main topic, again, remains love.
Specifically, the song talks about the illusion that love can last forever when you are in a relationship.
The song tells of the moment when a boy realizes the importance that his girlfriend had only and only at the moment when he loses her. In this situation, the boy realizes that love doesn’t last forever now, losing his girlfriend, he really realizes it.
9. Lost One by Epik High
Released in 2017 for the album “We’ve Done Something Wonderful”, this single has become very viral due to its use in the music video of the movie “Forgotten”. The feelings that this song conveys are those of tension, sadness, and fear which are inextricably mixed together and are enhanced by the scenes in the music video.
A k-pop song dedicated to people who have a certain goal and might get lost along the way when trying to reach it.
10. Let Me Out by Jonghyun
This song was released in 2017 and it too was very popular with the audience. This song is a bit different from the others since it is about love, but only partially.
The protagonist of the song finds himself at the mercy of his emotions and is in no way able to feel good because of it. The feeling that is conveyed by this song is one of loneliness and uncertainty.
The protagonist is lonely and frightened about the future and feels that he needs to be loved by someone in order to continue living and not be crushed by the weight of sadness.
The lyrics also refer to the protagonist’s anxiety and some suicidal thoughts that make this song even sadder.
Expert Tip: The meaning that “Let Me Out” wants to convey is the importance of love and feeling loved in a person’s life.
11. Untitled by G-Dragon
G-Dragon is one of the most beloved K-pop singers in the audience, and his song ’’Untitled’’ was highly appreciated both musically and in terms of its content. Also in this case the protagonist of the song is love specifically, the pain of trying to regain lost love.
The protagonist of the song, in fact, tries to win back his girlfriend whom he made suffer. The search for a second chance is therefore the real big theme of this song. The protagonist knows that he has hurt his beloved and only after losing his girlfriend does he understand the big mistake he has made.
The pain and suffering of this guy trying to win back this love gone are the emotions that reign in the notes of this fantastic song.
12. Promise by EXO
The song “Promise” also talks about separations and goodbyes, but not in the field of love. The song was released at the beginning of 2015, it tells about the difficulties and suffering of the members of the group after three members of the group decided to leave EXO.
The title “Promise” refers to the promise that had been made by all the members of the group, as soon as they founded the band, to never separate despite the various difficulties that they would certainly encounter in their path and musical career. This song also turns out to be a sort of apology from EXO to their fans for not being able to keep their promise to stay together despite everything.
13. Goodbye by 2NE1
Also in this song, as with the song “Promise” we just talked about, we don’t talk about a goodbye in love, but a different kind of goodbye. The song “Goodbye”, specifically, is a farewell that 2NE1 addresses to all their fans by deciding, after this song, to disband the group and not to sing together anymore.
Released at the beginning of 2017 this song was received with a lot of sadness and melancholy by all 2NE1 fans, being their last song. The vocals of the singers, combined with the acoustic guitar, create a whirlwind of sad and melancholic emotions that fully involve the person who is listening to this song.
14. Loser by BIGBANG
This other song by Big Bang has become iconic and very famous among all K-Pop fans. This song is not about goodbyes or breakups, but it is about another topic that affects many people. The song “Loser” is about that feeling that everyone has at least once in their life, of not feeling up to par and feeling like they are, as the title says “Losers”.
This song, in particular, stems from the emotions and feelings felt by the members of the group due to the tension and stress of the audience and always trying to improve. Despite the fact that the song was born from a feeling felt by these very famous singers, it is possible with great ease to find oneself within the lyrics of this song.
15. She’s in the Rain by The Rose
As the last song on this list we propose, She’s in the Rain by The Rose, released in 2017 and present in the album “Dawn”. The main theme of this song is loneliness and the pain that being alone and not feeling loved brings. In the music video, you can see a person drawing a woman walking with her head down who is crouching and eventually crying in the rain.
The music video greatly enhances the song by conveying even more strongly the weight of not being able to move on anymore because of the pain. At the end of the song, however, there is a change, as the protagonist, despite everything, decides to go forward and overcome that dark moment in his life.
Conclusion
We all go through extremely depressing days and seasons in our lives, and we can’t help but feel down in the dumps. The music that, according to many, helps people get through the most difficult times is one of the methods that people employ to get through these periods.
We have compiled a list of fifteen songs that we believe are some of the saddest songs in the k-pop genre, and we hope that they may be of assistance to you when you are feeling down. Thank you for your time!