Fans think Queen of Tears is about the Samsung heiress— How true is it though?

Long before When Life Gives You Tangerines tugged at heartstrings, it was Queen of Tears that had fans reaching for tissues. The K-drama featuring Kim Soo-hyun and Kim Ji-won follows the love story of Hong Hae-in and her husband, Baek Hyun-woo.

But beyond the romance and heartbreak, a curious theory has taken hold online. Many fans are convinced that Queen of Tears mirrors the real-life relationship of Samsung heiress Lee Boo-jin and her ex-husband Lim Woo-jae.

While Hyun-woo works as a lawyer and belongs to a small-town family, his wife comes from a powerful chaebol family and is a sharp-minded CEO of a luxury department store. Despite their marriage, the two are emotionally distant from each other and live separately in the same house.

The comparisons aren’t coming out of nowhere. The setup in this acclaimed K-drama feels strikingly similar to the once-famous marriage between Lee Boo-jin, daughter of the late Samsung chairman, and Lim Woo-jae, a man from a modest background who worked at the company.

So, is Queen of Tears secretly based on this high-profile couple? While there’s no official confirmation from the creators, the similarities are hard to ignore. Keep reading as we dive into how much truth lies behind this interesting theory.

Are Queen of Tears and the Samsung heiress story really that similar?

The theory that Queen of Tears is inspired by the life of Samsung heiress Lee Boo-jin has gained traction for a reason. In real life, Lee Boo-jin is the eldest daughter of the late Samsung chairman Lee Kun-hee.

Her 1999 marriage to Lim Woo-jae, a man who started as a hotel employee at a Samsung-owned resort, shocked many in South Korea. It broke class expectations and was widely covered by the media.

Their relationship was often referred to as a "chaebol fairytale", though the reality turned out to be far more complicated. The couple eventually divorced after a long and very public legal battle.

In Queen of Tears, Hong Hae-in is the powerful third-generation heiress of the Queens Group, and she’s married to Baek Hyun-woo, a small-town man who works as the same group's legal director. Soon after the series came out, fans noticed eerie similarities.

The fictional character Hong Hae-in and the real-life figure, the Samsung heiress, are from elite business families. Not only this, they tied knots with men who lived completely different lives and belonged to ordinary backgrounds.

There’s also the emotional distance in the marriage, the family tension and the immense social pressure that weighs on their relationships. Even the public image of Hae-in and Hyun-woo and the real couples stirred interest across South Korea.

The show added fictional elements like illness and time travel, but the class divide and highly discussed marriage mirror the reality of Lee Boo-jin’s high-profile marriage. It’s no surprise viewers started drawing parallels so quickly.

Also Read: The truth behind Byeon Woo-seok’s heart-melting performance in Lovely Runner— Did he actually sing?

What the creators say about this popular fan theory about Queen of Tears

Despite all the fan theories, the creators of the romantic K-drama have not officially stated that the drama is based on Lee Boo-jin’s life. There’s no confirmation or denial from the screenwriter Park Ji-eun or the production team.

That said, K-dramas often take inspiration from society, and this real-life chaebol love story was one of the most talked-about in South Korea's modern history. So it’s very possible that the writers used bits of public memory as creative fuel.

So while the tale of a wealthy businesswoman marrying an ordinary man may resemble what happened between Lee Boo-jin and Lim Woo-jae, Queen of Tears ultimately tells its own story.

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Also Read: This K-pop idol almost took the lead in Queen of Tears - But turned it down

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