Queen of Tears: Writer Park Ji-eun, Directors & Cast Who Made Korea Cry
The writer who set tvN's all-time rating record twice. Plus Kim Soo-hyun, Kim Ji-won, Kwak Dong-yeon, and Park Sung-hoon — the full team behind Queen of Tears.
👉 This is Part 3 of a 3-part series on Queen of Tears.
✍️ Writer — Park Ji-eun (박지은)
The Only Writer to Hold tvN’s #1 Record Twice
Park Ji-eun has a record that no other Korean drama writer holds.
Crash Landing on You (2019–2020) — tvN all-time rating record at the time: 21.7%
Queen of Tears (2024) — tvN all-time rating record broken again: 24.85%
The same writer set tvN’s highest rating record two times. No one else has done this.
Both shows share something. A love story in an impossible situation. Two people from different worlds. Walls that seem impossible to break. And two people who refuse to give up.
How She Writes Love
There is a rule in every Park Ji-eun drama.
“Love must not come easily. The higher the obstacle, the more the audience wants them to make it.”
In Queen of Tears, the obstacles are a terminal illness, memory loss, and a family conspiracy decades in the making. The harder the road, the sweeter the arrival.
📋 Profile
| Name | 박지은 (Park Ji-eun) |
| Debut | Early 2000s |
| Known for | Impossible romances · class divides · emotionally earned endings |
✍️ Key Works
| Title | Year | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| My Love from the Star (별에서 온 그대) | 2013–2014 | tvN · Kim Soo-hyun · started Asian Hallyu wave |
| The Producers (프로듀사) | 2015 | KBS · Kim Soo-hyun · Gong Hyo-jin |
| Crash Landing on You (사랑의 불시착) | 2019–2020 | tvN #1 (at the time) · Hyun Bin · Son Ye-jin |
| Queen of Tears (눈물의 여왕) | 2024 | tvN #1 all-time · Kim Soo-hyun · Kim Ji-won |
💡 Fun fact: Park Ji-eun and Kim Soo-hyun have worked together three times — My Love from the Star, The Producers, and Queen of Tears. When the Queen of Tears cast was announced, fans immediately said: “The Park Ji-eun and Kim Soo-hyun combination is back.” It delivered beyond every expectation.
🎬 The Directors — Kim Hee-won & Jang Young-woo
Director Kim Hee-won made Vincenzo (2021) — a crime comedy thriller. He then made Queen of Tears — a romantic melodrama. Two completely different genres, both executed at the highest level. He is one of the few Korean directors who can shift tone that completely and make it work.
Director Jang Young-woo is known for the Sweet Home series — horror, monsters, dark fantasy. That same eye for atmosphere and emotional tension made Queen of Tears feel grounded even when the plot went into dramatic territory.
Together, the two directors handled romance, thriller, and comedy — often in the same episode — without losing the emotional center.
| Director | Known for |
|---|---|
| Kim Hee-won | Vincenzo (2021) · Queen of Tears (2024) |
| Jang Young-woo | Sweet Home series · Queen of Tears (2024) |
🎭 The Cast
Kim Soo-hyun (김수현) — Baek Hyun-woo
📸 Official SNS: Instagram @soohyun_k216
🎬 ▶ Watch Kim Soo-hyun’s best Queen of Tears moments on YouTube
Who Is He?
Kim Soo-hyun is one of the biggest names in Korean drama — and has been for over a decade.
Queen of Tears was his big comeback after completing his military service (2017–2019) and a quieter period of projects. Even before the show aired, his per-episode fee made headlines — widely reported as the highest in Korean drama history at the time.
The role of Hyun-woo is technically demanding. He starts as a man ready to walk away. He becomes a man who will not leave no matter what. And in between, he has to hide who he is from someone who has forgotten him. All of that lives in Kim Soo-hyun’s face — without a speech, without explanation.
📋 Profile
| Full Name | 김수현 (Kim Soo-hyun) |
| Born | February 16, 1988 |
| Debut | 2007 |
| Military service | 2017–2019 |
| Known for | Eyes-only acting · biggest Hallyu star across Asia |
🎬 Key Works
| Title | Year | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Dream High (드림하이) | 2011 | Youth musical drama · with IU |
| Moon That Embraces the Sun (해를 품은 달) | 2012 | Historical drama · 40%+ ratings |
| My Love from the Star (별에서 온 그대) | 2013–2014 | Asian Hallyu explosion |
| It’s Okay to Not Be Okay (사이코지만 괜찮아) | 2020 | Post-military comeback |
| Queen of Tears | 2024 | tvN all-time #1 · Baeksang Award |
Kim Ji-won (김지원) — Hong Hae-in
📸 Official SNS: Instagram @k_jiwon9
🎬 ▶ Watch Kim Ji-won’s best Queen of Tears moments on YouTube
Who Is She?
Kim Ji-won is a patient actress.
She debuted in 2011. For over a decade, she was consistently praised in every show she appeared in. But she was always supporting the lead, not being one. Descendants of the Sun. My Liberation Notes. Arthdal Chronicles. She shone in every role — but the center was always someone else’s.
Queen of Tears gave her the center. She took it completely.
Hae-in is a character who communicates through silence. She does not have long speeches. She has micro-expressions — a slight shift in the eyes, a jaw that barely tightens. Kim Ji-won delivered all of it. The result: Baeksang Arts Award for Best Actress 2024.
📋 Profile
| Full Name | 김지원 (Kim Ji-won) |
| Born | September 19, 1992 |
| Debut | 2011 |
| Known for | Restrained emotional acting · micro-expression mastery |
🎬 Key Works
| Title | Year | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| The Heirs (상속자들) | 2013 | With Lee Min-ho and Park Shin-hye |
| Descendants of the Sun (태양의 후예) | 2016 | With Song Joong-ki · KBS Drama Award |
| My Liberation Notes (나의 해방일지) | 2022 | Deeply praised performance |
| Queen of Tears | 2024 | Baeksang Best Actress |
💡 Fun fact: Kim Ji-won was street-cast in middle school. Her first job was a commercial for an LG phone. Thirteen years later, she starred in the highest-rated tvN drama of all time.
Kwak Dong-yeon (곽동연) — Hong Soo-cheol
📸 Official SNS: [Instagram @dy..yeon](https://www.instagram.com/dy..yeon)
Who Is He?
The biggest surprise of the whole show.
Hong Soo-cheol is Hae-in’s younger brother. He tries very hard to be powerful and important. He fails, constantly, in the most entertaining ways possible. Every scene he is in becomes funnier than it should be.
Kwak Dong-yeon was already a respected actor from Vincenzo and Big Mouth. But Queen of Tears turned him into a fan favorite. The rule became simple: “When Soo-cheol appears, something funny is about to happen.”
🎬 Key Works
| Title | Year | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Vincenzo | 2021 | Villain · same director Kim Hee-won |
| Big Mouth (빅마우스) | 2022 | Thriller with Lee Jong-suk |
| Queen of Tears | 2024 | Best comedy character of the year |
Park Sung-hoon (박성훈) — Yoon Eun-sung
📸 Official SNS: Instagram @parks_hunnn
Who Is He?
Yoon Eun-sung is the show’s main source of tension. A former Wall Street analyst. Obsessively connected to Hae-in’s past. He returns to Korea with a plan.
Park Sung-hoon made the entire country angry when he played a bully in The Glory. He brings the same intensity to Yoon Eun-sung — but this character is more complicated. Is he a villain? A victim? The show keeps you guessing.
🎬 Key Works
| Title | Year | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| The Glory | 2022–2023 | Villain opposite Song Hye-kyo · made the whole nation angry |
| Queen of Tears | 2024 | Complex antagonist |
| Squid Game Season 2 | 2024 | New player — major character |
🎭 Why the “Two Kims” Chemistry Worked
The biggest reason Queen of Tears succeeded is the chemistry between Kim Soo-hyun and Kim Ji-won.
The two had not appeared in a drama together since My Love from the Star — in 2013. Fans waited over 10 years for this pairing.
The moment they looked at each other on screen, audiences felt it. Something clicked that cannot be scripted.
Chemistry like this does not come from the writing. It comes from two actors who trust each other completely. That trust is visible in every shared scene.
📊 Where Are They Now? (2026)
| Name | Status |
|---|---|
| Writer Park Ji-eun | Next project in development |
| Director Kim Hee-won | Active — next project awaited |
| Kim Soo-hyun | Active in film and drama |
| Kim Ji-won | Active — Baeksang win opened new doors |
| Kwak Dong-yeon | Actively working across multiple projects |
| Park Sung-hoon | Active post-Squid Game S2 |
👉 More in This Series
- Part 1 — Spoiler-Free Introduction →
- Part 2 — Ending Explained & Deep Dive →
- Crash Landing on You — Park Ji-eun’s previous tvN #1 →
- Most Watched K-Dramas of All Time →
- See all K-Drama posts →
Data: Baeksang Arts Awards official · Netflix · Nielsen Korea · agency sources