Drama Recommendation: Shizuka-chan to Papa
Tearjerkers are stories that move you so deeply that you will probably end up shedding some tears if not buckets of them along the way. Some people aren’t very fond of watching tearjerker dramas as they tend to make you a little bit sad and sometimes drain energy from you. But I think sometimes people like to watch tearjerkers once in awhile and just have a good cry. For those people who like sad stories with a deep plotline and sometimes life lessons included, here are my three tearjerker recommendations.
I’m Sorry, I Love You
I'm Sorry, I Love You, aka MISA, is an old Korean drama from 2004 and the first drama I ever watched with So Ji Sub. And what great acting he did in here, showing a very wide range of emotions. It was also one of Jung Kyung Ho’s first dramas. He looked so young in this!
The story is about Ji Sub’s character, an orphan named Cha Moo Hyuk. He lives in Australia where he was adopted but then thrown away by his adoptive parents. Despite this Moo Hyuk holds no grudge against his birth mother, thinking she lived in such poverty that she had to give him up for adoption. An incident results in his getting shot in the head, leaving him with three months to live. He decides to go to Korea to search for his mother, where he finds out things weren’t as he thought and due to some shocking revelations he turns vengeful towards his mother.
This drama is about revenge but also has a very touching love story, the plot is very good, and there are some twists here and there to reveal more as the story continues. The first two episodes are a little hard to watch, but if you reach Episode 3 you will be hooked. This drama has a dark, sad aura going on throughout all the episodes so it’s not an easy watch. The OST is also very good. The intro song "Snow Flower" by Park Hyo Shin is great and you can also find a version by Ji Sub.
1 Litre of Tears
“To be able to smile and tell everyone this; I have, at least, cried one litre of tears. Therefore, even when I leave this school, I definitely won't think that some things have ended.”
This is also and old Japanese drama from 2005 and is based on a true story. Ikeuchi Aya was a high school student who developed spinocerebellar degeneration, a disease that gradually paralyzed her. When Aya was diagnosed, the disease wasn’t that well known and they didn’t have many treatments or knowledge about the disease. On the advice of her doctor, she wrote a diary to register all the changes she was feeling. These diaries were turned into the book this drama was based on. It tells all the struggles she had to face, and also contains many beautiful phrases and poems she wrote like this one:
The Other Side of Suffering
Everyone feels pain
But surely, after suffering satisfaction will arrive
Even with sports; studying or other ordeals with life,
It's like that for everyone
If we can beat the pain, on the other side
a rainbow of happiness awaits us.
That will definitely become a treasure
Let’s believe in that.
The drama also has a subtle but endearing love story that is the only fictional part of the drama. It was included because Aya’s mother wished for her to have had this experience in real life.
The acting is very well done, especially Sawajiri Erika and Nishikido Ryo. They were awesome and acted with so much heart that it really makes you feel the characters’ emotions. And let's not forget the awesome OST; featuring two songs by Remioromen, "Konayuki" and "Sangatsu Kokonoka", and "Only human" by K.
I wouldn't necessarily call this a sad drama, but more of an inspirational drama that will certainly leave you thinking about life.
Marriage Contract
This more recent drama is sad but heartwarming. A young widow, Kang Hye Soo, and her young daughter meet the owner of a restaurant, Han Ji Hoon, where Hye Soo starts working. There she finds out that Ji Hoon is looking for a liver donor for his mother and is willing to marry a stranger in order to get it. Hye Soo also finds that out that she has a brain tumor with little chance of surviving, so she decides to enter a contracted marriage with Ji Hoon to secure her daughter’s future.
It's a sad premise but I assure you that it's worth the watch, and for me only the last couple of episodes felt very sad. The acting is great, the little girl wins your heart, and Uee is very memorable. And despite the age differences between Uee and Lee Seo Jin, their chemistry was so good it's easy to believe that it was a real life couple.
