Queen of Tears 눈물의 여왕 [2024]

[mademoiselle]

New stills

 

[abs-oluteM]

Pre-released with translations

Hong Haein vs Bang Sil, meeting of two people whom Baek Hyunwoo was flirting with.

 

Haein: What are you doing?

Misun: Oh... Have you ever tried this? Dyeing with balsam flowers.

Haein: No...

Kangmi: You know there's a saying, if the balsam dye remains on your nails until the first snow, your first love will come true. That's why Bangsil always dyes her nails with balsam in the fall, not in the summer.

Haein: That's romantic.

Kangmi: Well, it's not so much romantic as she has a bit of a dark side.

Bangsil: Is it really that dark? The person just happens to be divorced... Well, I didn't notice when he wasn't around, but lately, I keep running into him.

Kangmi: Hey... shut your mouth, will you? Just stop it.

Bangsil: Sorry, sorry, sorry, I was too honest, wasn't I? Don't be too upset, President Hong.

Haein: Why would I be?

Bangsil: Actually, back in the day, when Hyunwoo was in the church youth group, he flirted with me a lot.

Haein: When did Hyunwoo ever flirt with you?

Bangsil: Didn't you know? At church, when they give out snacks and stuff, Hyunwoo would always make sure to give me two of everything, like Choco Pies and steamed buns, in front of everyone...

Hyunjeong: That's because you take other people's stuff to eat.

Misun: Oh, sister-in-law, it's not like that. Bangsil, you always talk nonsense...

Haein: Does it have to remain until the first snow?

[SilverMoonTea]

On 4/19/2024 at 10:03 AM, ktcjdrama said:

 

Enough excuses. Come watch with us! Both these dramas.

Haha I'm on Joo Ji Hun island now... rewatching old drama Mask. Blood Free has been awakening my lost love for him.

[mademoiselle]

New stills

 

[mademoiselle]

Episode 13 Cuts - BaekHong's Daily Love-Love Scene

 

From what I gather, the family moved back to their Queens residence, but Hae In wanted to stay with Hyun Woo. Hyun Woo, too, asked the in-law for permission. The newly reconciled couple finally "move out" from Queens. Yay!!! The couple scenes make me nervous, to be honest 😅

 

Spoiler

Hae In tells Hyun Woo the MP3 player is hers and wore the ring.

Hyun Woo is sooooooo slow~

Hae In tells him he is her first love and he's still so blur-blur...

 

Edited April 20 by mademoiselle

[abs-oluteM]

True to its title , this drama is determined to have us cry a river .  But as long as she has a shot at living , losing those memories will feel like a small sacrifice if you ask me . 
 

 

[ktcjdrama]

I really like the way the 3 secrets are being told to Hyun Woo. I thought they're all at appropriate time, and quite cute too. The way she wondered how he got into Seoul University 

 

I purposely skipped the preview... coz I kinda expecting that Eun Sung is planning to sweep in after Hae In's memory is swiped blank after her surgery, and snatch her for himself like that. I'd rather not have to be disturbed by preview of that possibility tonight so I can sleep. Although at the end of the episode, her response did not come at a surprise, I really hope she would go through with it. I did think for a while, what's the meaning of prolonging life, when you forget everything... would I have chosen to do that? It's a tough choice. But as the episode progresses, I think I would. Not for myself, but I would do it for the sake of other people who clearly still want me to be around them. New memories can be created. 

 

Seriously, like some ppl have commented, this drama should be titled "King of Tears" instead of Queen...

[mademoiselle]

Pre-release

 

[mademoiselle]

I'm going to start with the villains first. I can't believe she refused to move out, even after taking the slush fund. Absolutely disgusting. Same with Eun Sung. I hope Hyun Woo sue his ass for invading their privacy, touching/moving their things without permission. Sue him down to the most trivial, petty things possible! Obviously, he's now hoping to intercept Hyun Woo after the brain surgery so he can play-pretend to be Hae In's lover. What a revolting and shameless mother and son. 😡💢

 

I'm really hoping Grace is a part of the "twists". I just don't get how everyone can't keep their mouths shut in front of her. This might be part of the twists, too, but I'm beginning to see what Hyun Woo plans to do, seeing how he isn't too worried about losing the slush fund. The slush fund will definitely play a part as the evidence and incriminate them further when it's time to strike.

 

Hyun Woo being so blur with the second secret really cracks me up! 😂 It's what makes him cute in Hae In's eyes, I guess. It's nice to see more couple moments, although, it would be even nicer we get a bit more kisses and a mild bed scene after the "ottokae". The tone of the "ottokae" was so suggestive, and they gave us a waking-up-in-bed-in-PJ-scene. 😓

 

As for the surgery vs losing memory, can't say I like this development—it almost confirms my 50 First Dates theory. Also, there's a spoiler flying around regarding the ending, and this is the first one that came true (surgery & potential memory loss), and the next one is Hae In indeed lost her memory. Let's see if this will come true tonight. I am worried there's not enough time to wrap up the story properly with the couple still fighting about the surgery, then the potential memory loss, when they are supposed to fight the baddies TOGETHER.

 

The epilogue doesn't feel like a normal message with all that crying. It felt a foreshadowing. Not that I believe Hyun Woo will die, but felt like something might happen to him that this might be used to trigger Hae In's memory when he's in critical condition. And then voilà, we have our miracle, her memory came back. I question the need for this video since under normal circumstances, Hyun Woo is supposed to be by her side when she wakes up, unless Eun Sung intercepted. Eun Sung would never allow this video to be played. The only alternative I could think of is, she might reject seeing Hyun Woo personally and the video is supposed to help "ease" her into it.

 

[mademoiselle]

How crazy. AI's translation is more powerful than Google Translate and Papago Translate. The below is translated from Korean news article using Copilot (I've read this version in Weibo in Chinese first).

 

@Chocolate Have a read. Remember our discussion about how scriptwriter survive? Looks like Netflix has IP rights for Netflix Original Series. So, in the non-Netflix Original Series, the scriptwriter might be able to have copyright fees if they asked for it from the production companies, especially the famous writers like Kim Eun Sook and Park Ji Eun..?

 

[News] ‘Queen of Tears’, worth more than the 56 billion won invested

 

[Seoul=Newsis] Reporter Choi Ji-yoon

 

These days, wherever you go to a restaurant or elsewhere, all you hear about is the tvN weekend drama ‘Queen of Tears’. Regardless of the drama’s production, it’s undeniable that it’s the biggest hit of the first half of the year. It has surpassed a viewership rating of 20% (based on Nielsen Korea’s nationwide paid households) and has topped the non-English TV series category on Netflix worldwide. With only three episodes left until the end, it’s also sweeping the buzz charts. Writer Park Ji-eun (48) has once again proven herself to be the queen of ratings, and the lead actors Kim Soo-hyun (36) and Kim Ji-won (31) have entered a new heyday. About 60 billion won was invested in production costs, but did it yield more than that?

 

According to the industry on the 21st, a total of 56 billion won was invested in the production cost of ‘Queen of Tears’. It’s a 16-part series, with 3.5 billion won per episode. Initially, it was estimated to be over 40 billion won, but it cost about 16 billion won more. Although the total production cost is smaller than that of ‘Moving’ (2023), the largest scale domestic drama on Disney+, the production cost per episode is similar. The total production cost of ‘Moving’ is over 65 billion won (32.5 billion won per episode for a 20-part series).

 

These days, dramas recoup their production costs first through sales on online video services (OTT) such as Netflix. This is because the risk burden is high if the production cost, which is in the hundreds of billions of won, fails to hit the box office. It is said that ‘Queen of Tears’ has achieved 120% recoup (recovery of production costs). It was released in 190 countries through Netflix, and in Korea, it is being shown on tvN and Tving. It earned over 65 billion won from Netflix sales and tvN programming fees alone. In other words, it not only recouped the pre-broadcast production cost of 54 billion won, but also made an additional profit of about 10 billion won. One insider hinted, “It’s not easy to make this much profit,” and “Netflix bore about 80% of the production cost. If you add indirect advertising (PPL) and other additional income, it will leave 10 billion won + α.”

 

In the case of Netflix originals, Netflix takes all intellectual property (IP) rights, but bears up to 120% of the production cost. Despite not being an OTT original, ‘Queen of Tears’ received about 80% support, thanks to the name value of Hallyu star Kim Soo-hyun and star writer Park Ji-eun. The two teamed up for the third time after ‘You Who Came From the Stars’ (2013~2014) and ‘Producer’ (2015). ‘Queen of Tears’ ranked first in the Netflix TV show category in Japan, which also influenced the high preference for K-romance overseas.

 

Kim Soo-hyun was able to reduce the burden by lowering his appearance fee per episode to about 300 million won. Initially, there was a rumour that he would receive 800 million won per episode, but it is rumoured that he received a total of about 5 billion won in the 300 million won range. ‘Queen of Tears’ was made together by Studio Dragon, Culture Depot, and Showrunners. Culture Depot is a subsidiary of Studio Dragon and the agency of writer Park, and Showrunners is a production company established by director Jang Young-woo (44). Kim Soo-hyun’s agency Gold Medalist did not participate in the joint production. Only Lee Robe (Lee Sarang), known as Kim Soo-hyun’s cousin and CCO of Gold Medalist, was listed as a production advisor. This contrasted with the fact that Gold Medalist had co-produced dramas starring Kim Soo-hyun, such as ‘It’s Okay to Not Be Okay’ (2020) and ‘One Day’ (2021). It is said that he did not make unreasonable demands in terms of appearance fees and joint production, as he has had a long relationship with writer Park.

 

Another insider said, “Usually, if a drama has a hard time recouping, it doesn’t get scheduled. ‘Queen of Tears’ had the power of Kim Soo-hyun and Park Ji-eun’s reunion, planning, production, and scheduling,” but also said, “If Kim Soo-hyun received 800 million won per episode and his agency also participated in the joint production, he wouldn’t have been able to leave this much profit.”

 

This drama is a miraculous love story achieved by ‘Baek Hyun-woo’ (Kim Soo-hyun), the son of a village head in Yongduri, who is a couple of three years with ‘Hong Hae-in’ (Kim Ji-won), a third-generation chaebol of the Queens Group. It changed the gender role in the romance between a chaebol man and an ordinary woman, and added interest by melting in-law living. Of course, there are many criticisms that it is ‘old and childish’, but the harmony of fast development, flawless acting, and excellent directing was well achieved. It’s so popular that it’s been ranked first in buzz for six consecutive weeks in the Fundex report announced by Good Data Corporation. These days, ratings are said to be meaningless as indicators, but the fact that it surpassed 20% was largely due to satisfying women in their 30s to 50s. Comedian Kim Ji-hye (44) posted almost every episode of live broadcast certification video on SNS, and interpreter Lee Yoon-jin (40), who is in a divorce lawsuit with actor Lee Beom-soo (54), mentioned, “I sleep well for about 8 hours a day, and my goal is to make sure to watch ‘Queen of Tears’.”

 

The value of Kim Soo-hyun and Kim Ji-won is also soaring. Kim Soo-hyun’s previous work, Coupang Play’s ‘One Day’ (2021), did not hit the box office as expected, but ‘Queen of Tears’ solidified his position as a Hallyu star. All the works he did with writer Park until ‘Queen of Tears’ were successful, showing the power of a guaranteed hit check. He breathed life into a clichéd character and attracted viewers with solid acting, not just supporting the female lead Kim Ji-won. He is considering ‘Knock Off’, a new work by Park Hyun-seok PD of ‘Secret Forest 2’ (2020), as his next work, and the industry is predicting that his appearance fee per episode will exceed 800 million won.

 

Kim Ji-won is set to become the ‘queen of advertising’. It’s her challenge to play a chaebol role 11 years after ‘The Heirs’ (2013) ‘Yura Hell’. Although ‘Cheon Song-yi’ (Jun Ji-hyun), a top star in ‘You Who Came From the Stars’, came to mind, she attracted attention with her stable acting skills and flashy styling. She has already been selected as a model for Lotte Chilsung Beverage’s soju ‘Like the First Time’ and Hanwha Non-Life Insurance, and has risen as a blue chip in the advertising industry. As she garnered attention with her third-generation chaebol fashion, she is expected to receive a flood of love calls from various items after the end of the show.

 

It also had a synergistic effect with PPL brands. Mercedes-Benz Korea participated as the main sponsor, and Bvlgari, Subway, Hanam Pig, Hatban Sotban, Planet Quick Range·Air Fry, etc. also appeared as PPL. As PPL became excessive towards the latter half, it lowered the immersion, but it is known to have had a positive impact on increasing sales volume and improving brand image. Daishin Securities researcher Kim Hoi-jae also pointed out that the success of ‘Queen of Tears’ is largely two things. “With high ratings, additional income from incentives linked to advertising will be added to the tvN broadcasting rights,” and “The production cost of ‘Queen of Tears’ is estimated to be more than twice the average. It will greatly exceed the average recoup rate as it is simultaneously broadcast on Netflix.”

 

source

Edited April 21 by mademoiselle

[mademoiselle]

New stills

 

[ktcjdrama]

5 hours ago, mademoiselle said:

I'm going to start with the villains first. I can't believe she refused to move out, even after taking the slush fund. Absolutely disgusting. Same with Eun Sung. I hope Hyun Woo sue his ass for invading their privacy, touching/moving their things without permission. Sue him down to the most trivial, petty things possible! Obviously, he's now hoping to intercept Hyun Woo after the brain surgery so he can play-pretend to be Hae In's lover. What a revolting and shameless mother and son. 😡💢

Same feeling here!  I was gobsmacked when he instructed the maids to clean out their stuff! Especially because I personally hate it the most when people touch/move my things without asking. 

 

[mademoiselle]

OST10

 

[ktcjdrama]

Prepare your tissues again... Another tear-jerker episode.

 

Does anyone remember whether the long-term memory loss is a permanent one or temporary? Was it mentioned?

 

Edited April 21 by ktcjdrama

[gilaswan]

@ktcjdrama long-term is what would be lost.

 

Man, I wanna scream! I’ve never hated a villain this much before! Yoon Eun-Slimey!!! 
 

but it’s way past my bedtime. I’ll check in tmw. Meanwhile, *fume*

Edited April 22 by gilaswan

[ktcjdrama]

17 minutes ago, gilaswan said:

 long-term is what would be lost.

So short term memory can still be retained.... Then she should remember what happened not long ago? It's late, my brain not functioning.

 

18 minutes ago, gilaswan said:

I’ve never hated a villain this before!

Me too!!  

[gilaswan]

Short term memory is used for very immediate things, for example, someone gives you an order and you take it with you to the counter to make the order. Long term memory relates to things of the past that you draw back on, your knowledge of people and places, shared histories, etc. I’m sure it’s scientifically inaccurate, but the writer was probably trying to use the idea that Hae-in’s short term memory is still intact by having her say Hyunwoo’s name to herself repeatedly until she falls asleep - she wakes up with the most recent memory of a name, but no memory of who that person is or the character of the person. 

 

While I don’t like the memory loss trope, If have to say this writer has taken it and really made the evil of it really blood boiling (gotta give it to her to keep people watching). Eun-seong is manipulative to the core, like mother like son. Mok Seul-hee’s plans to take all of the Hong family’s wealth was simply driven by absolute greed! Nothing else to it! She just coveted all that the family had and living with them for 20 years allowed her to uncover all their social weaknesses and manipulate them. 

 

How will everything wrap up in the last 2 episodes?? How on earth did Eun-seong manage to fabricate the evidence on Hyun-woo? Surely Hyun-woo had alibis… but they would likely mostly be Hae-in, and she’s lost her memories! I hope she manages to recover her memories. Doctor did say that the likelihood of memory loss would be there but not 100% definite that it would, right? 

 

Honestly, if it were me, I’d probably also choose not to have the surgery. To lose one’s memories and therefore one’s history and sense of self is not so much terrifying to the self but devastating for family and loved ones too. You might as well be dead. The stress of not being able to remember is very displacing. 

 

 

Edited April 22 by gilaswan

[ktcjdrama]

3 hours ago, gilaswan said:

Doctor did say that the likelihood of memory loss would be there but not 100% definite that it would, right?

Yes, I'm hanging onto that. If I remember correctly, there is a very high chance of losing memory. Not a definite. Which leads me to questioning if that will be temporary or permanent.

 

3 hours ago, gilaswan said:

Honestly, if it were me, I’d probably also choose not to have the surgery. To lose one’s memories and therefore one’s history and sense of self is not so much terrifying to the self but devastating for family and loved ones too. You might as well be dead. The stress of not being able to remember is very displacing. 

I will choose to go with the surgery. I would die physically anyway. So it's like being "reborn"? 

[mademoiselle]

There are still so many strings to tie up. The Queens Group's pickle is not too hard to resolve, as long as Hyun Woo's plan works out, but I don't want it to be taken care of too quickly that it lacks a good narration. Once this happens, everything will fall into place for Soo Cheol, Da Hae, and Grace. And I demand a good explanation behind Mo Seul Hee's actions. I feel like the show is so busy making us cry with the OTP that it forgets to give us the reason behind Mo Seul Hee's actions. There had to be a reason why the Queens become her target, no? I find it hard to accept the only reason is "greed". And who killed the thud? Eun Sung or Mo Seul Hee? Not that I really care, to be honest. Both mother and son need to go to jail. They can sleep in a toilet for the rest of their life for invading people's space.

 

Aunt Beom Ja's love line could really be fast-forwarded a bit more so that there is more/proper screen time for the OTP. I didn't even know Hyun Woo's Noona is married. All these times, I thought she was divorced or something. But what is the relevance in telling us about this now?

 

Episode 14 had some really great acting, though I think it got way too melodramatic for my liking. I remember MLFTS was really sombre near the end, too, and the happy ending was too short. I hope Park Ji Eun doesn't drag out the "separation" for too long on this one.

 

Eun Sung really made my blood boil. It's not like I didn't see it coming, but when it actually happened, it's still infuriating—mainly because I didn't expect Hyun Woo will be framed for murder.

 

As for the debate regarding the surgery, it is tough. I reckon I wouldn't know which I'll really choose until it actually is happening to me. Because if it happens to average people who aren't rich like Hae In, the first thing I worried about is how will I continue to survive when I lose all the skills and experience I gained throughout the years. Everything could be wiped out. It's quite intimidating. Social interactions, especially with family and friends, can be rebuilt, but (work) skills take years to accumulate!

 

New stills

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

There are three scenes that stood out from this episode. The car crash scene is a given. The second is the cry-confrontation at the church, but what I enjoyed (and had a bit of laugh) was what came after at the hotel. It felt like Hyun Woo's little tantrum/revenge at Hae In, for refusing to do the surgery even after how much he begs. It's also kind of cute that for once, Hae In was the one flustered and worried, walking behind a pissed-off Hyun Woo. 😆

 

 

BTS from High Zium Studio (Kim Ji Won)

 

[ktcjdrama]

7 hours ago, mademoiselle said:

at the hotel. It felt like Hyun Woo's little tantrum/revenge at Hae In, for refusing to do the surgery even after how much he begs.

 You know for a minute there I was wondering and worried if Hae In has mistaken another person (too lazy to type his name) as Hyun Woo again, because he was acting so different, not his usual self... 

 

[ktcjdrama]

Alamak... I just realised I'm gonna be traveling during this finale weekend  I might be able to watch at night, but then I most probably will end up with swollen eyes the next day. Will come peek in here for a little spoiler on what the tearing level is like 

[gilaswan]

5 hours ago, ktcjdrama said:

Alamak... I just realised I'm gonna be traveling during this finale weekend  I might be able to watch at night, but then I most probably will end up with swollen eyes the next day. Will come peek in here for a little spoiler on what the tearing level is like 

Before I went on my trip, I actually counted to see if I would be away during the finale week or not too. Hahaha.. I managed to catch episodes while I was away last week! 

[Alice Wonderland]

Ep 14 bawls my eyes out. How did you find a husband who tried so hard to save your life, to keep you with him even there's a chance he'll be forgotten? Whoah, I do want a loyal husband in my real life too. I pray to The Almighty everyday to grant my wish. 😄

 

Come on writer, these husband and wife must end up happily. Don't break our heart! Give us the miracle! It's enough with real life being so heartbreaking. Let us have happy ending for our drama, jebal!

 

I am not done yet. Brb after done watching. Sigh, I hope the police will catch YES first before he kidnaps HI. He and his mom r so infuriating!

 

If you havent done, don't open. 

Spoiler

Done watching! Geez. YES took the chance to pretend he's the good guy here. But I like the set up actually. Their love will grow once more and even stronger. She remembers him! I hope that YES won't get his wish. Seeing him with that fake bandaged hand annoys me. So evil! He lied about saving her from drowning. He throw away all HI's memory from their rooms. He prepared everything to deceive her to love him. I wish the drama will reveal this to HI later. Like how HI come clean with the secrets. BHW just mentioned one. He hasnt told her she is his first love too and that he ever saved a girl in the past. 

 

Edited April 24 by Alice Wonderland

[mademoiselle]

Pre-release

 

[gilaswan]

All of us are so distressed by Eun-seong's slimey ways that no one commented on how Hae-in, following an invasive brain surgery, emerges the OT with a full head of luscious hair... Hahahaha...