Prepare your heart
I messed up… I somehow got into my head that this was going to be a light-hearted comedy (yes, I was lucky to not see any spoilers!) but how wrong was I… you definitely need to prepare your heart and feelings for a drama like this. The plot kind of threw me off slightly, I don’t think we saw Young’s love journey through the eyes of Mi Ae, I think we saw his love journey through his own eyes - his trauma, his love and his heartbreak. He really had it all and we had to witness it all. I do think some of his actions weren’t the right actions to take but he really did go through so much. I definitely think the saying of ‘You don’t realise something until it’s gone.’ Is definitely true for Young and the drama. I really loved this drama from start to finish and it’s definitely on the shelf for one of the best Korean BL dramas in my opinion. Yoon Soo did such a great job acting as Young, in fact all of the actors did a good job. Would I like to see a little bit more? Maybe with the two reuniting? Yes. I don’t think it will happen but to keep my mind at peace, it will happen someday.Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
It is as real as it could be.
For start: Expect real life story - do not expect BL happy pinky love story.This series is so real. Bitersweet.
THANKS:
Thank Nam Yoon Su for your excellent work. I first saw you on King's affection and liked you since then. You were soooo awesome, I believed every emotion you delivered. I loved every smile you gave with your cute dimples.
Thanks to Jin Ho Eun for the most real portration of Gyu Ho. Your smile was everything.
Thanks to Kwon Hyuk - I know I saw your already somewhere else, you know.
Thanks to Na Hyun Woo - I am sorry but you were so hot.
Thank other actors which created friendship that appeared so real.
Thank you for the full length episodes - that is unexpected from Korean drama for this kind and I am sooooo thankful for this!
Please be there season 2.
I really loved it. Thank you for your work!
*spoilers ahead*
GYU HO:
I was waiting for Gyu Ho to the last second of the last episode. I really am so heartbroken that it ended like that. But again - it is life. It is just I do not know how to get from this state again. Last time I was this heartbroken was after Stay with me. Gosh I have to rewatch this excelent series with Nam Yoon Sus' smiles once I get throught this.
KISS:
Let me talk about that hot sceen with the researcher. What the ****? I did not expect that. But it was so damn good. That was the hottest I have ever seen in kdrama so far. All kissing scene were much more better than some of the K-BLs. There are kbls where if there was no kiss it would be better. But Love in the big city it is something else. Something more. Something that will set the HIGH expectations for kdramas from now on. I love it so much. You were awesome and determined. Thank you.
Thank to the actors for your devotion to us viewers to deliver us this masterpiece series.
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Feeling empty ? DO WATCH.
The drama portrays the emotions so well. The actors, directors and cinematographer did an amazing job at conveying the emotions. Most of the time I felt like I was a part Go Young's life.One of the aspect I enjoyed the most would be how they showed the feeling of emptiness and loneliness. It was so on point and the incredible acting backed it up well.
Not your typical BL drama but an upgraded version I would say. (from economy to private jet kind)
I would certainly recommend to watch it. Give it a go people. It's an emotional rollercoaster which just hooks you on. ; )
PS. I kindly apologize for any grammatical or spelling errors and also this review is just my personal opinion.
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IM GONNA KILL MYSELF
At first, I felt a bit reluctant about Go Young because of some of his actions, but in the end, I completely understood his character. He was abandoned by his father when he was young, treated as if he was sick by his mother for being gay, and ended up contracting HIV from someone he trusted.Gyu Ho was the love of his life. He had never told anyone about his illness, but shortly after meeting Gyu Ho, he felt comfortable enough to tell him, even knowing that Gyu Ho could abandon him. And even after knowing that Gyu Ho loved and accepted him as he was, Go Young still felt insecure and would often ask things like, “Do you think I’m dirty?” or “Are you disgusted by me?”
The most memorable moment for me was when he went to Bangkok with that businessman and started to remember everything he had experienced with his true love, Gyu Ho, in that same city.
In the end, i understood that he had come to terms with his reality. That last smile he gave in the final episode wasn’t one of happiness, but of acceptance.
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ROLLER COSTER RIDE OF EMOTIONS
The Storyline was one of the best LGBTQ+ series that depicts the reality of being one of the LGBTQ+. Finding true love while finding yourself. This series will let you see the shortcomings of the ML that somehow led to his own decisions in life. You will feel any certain kind of emotions (love, joy, pain, loneliness and etc.) in every episode. Also, as a bi this series lets me question myself if true love is even possible if I will love a man. The “what if” questions is also keeps coming through my head. This series might not be perfect, but it will let you see the reality of what LOVE truly is. Lastly, the friendship they had was the best.Was this review helpful to you?
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This review may contain spoilers
Now this is what we wanted when we were begging for Korean bls. Maybe not something quite so sad and riddled with heartache, but something with so much depth and amazing story telling. As we followed along with Go Youngs story, every step had me captivated and on the edge of my seat anxious to now what happened next. The relationship between him and every partner was a new and anxious experience for the watcher and his friendships were so heartwarming to watch. The different dynamics in every relationship and the underlying narratives were truly captivating. I'm embarrassed to admit how much I cried at the end of Go Young and Gyu Ho's story at episode 6 and then again at the end of ep 8. Really the whole thing had me fully locked in.
I would love to see more from this director, and the cast did a fabulous job as well. Truly a splendid piece of work.
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A fresh perspective
Honestly my expectations were sky high but while watching ep 1, especially in the middle of the episode I kinda found some scenes cringe, so I almost dropped it. Also when it showed more friendship/roommates dynamic I kinda was uninterested because I thought it would be solely romance about two people. But thankfully I completed 2nd ep and was hooked. I was rooting for 1st cp and than the next and finally realized, this was not just a love story but story about love in life. So many people come and go and it’s very common for people to date many people over the years. I really loved the research guy cp, when he said to break up & go young punched him, his eyes looked painful, like he was hurting bad inside. I could feel his pain of unable to accept himself and how he was lost and hurting. I loved nurse guy cp too, loved how it showed many dynamic of dating and how over time, the fire is lost even though the love is still there but there are so many moments when you question it. I have never been in a relationship so it made me realize a lot about love. Go young was a relatable character, not perfect but very real, sometimes we don’t know how to appreciate the love given until it’s too late. So all in all, absolutely loved it and it made me reflect a lot in life too, also loved his friendship with 3 other guys and his ex roommate. There were so many good parts but gonna end it here. Hope there is 2nd seasonWas this review helpful to you?
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Start from episode 4 or 5
Honestly, the whole series would've been great. I really didn't like the first 4 episodes, they were definitely tiring and really uninteresting. They didn't have any value and acted like fillers so the show would have more episodes. Besides story line with Miae, son-mother relationship and Go Young's "religious trauma" - if you even can call that because it was not fully explained - they were just shitty. It would definitely fit in one or maybe two episodes, instead of four. Many other novel based series just cut most (if not all) of the unnecessary scenes out.In the last episode the story line was jumping from Go Young's and Gyuho's trip to Thailand and his trip with Habibi. Why couldn't it be the case for 2(3) relationships that were in the first episodes (if we include the random guys that had 2 minutes of screen time). Changing the story line of novels in shows is such a common thing, why not do it here? The HIV thing was a really random, but if done correctly it honestly could've been the main point of the show since the beggining.
To touch down on the production and acting itself, I can say that I liked it? The thing that threw me off is the scene in the second episode where Go Young was using a lash curler. I feel like the producers or the directors just yelled "act like the most stereotypical gay man" and Nam Yoonsu just had to do it. The stereotypes are definitely showing during some scenes and it sometimes was unbearable to watch, but overall I don't think it was bad.
For a show that has a cast known for being in Netflix shows and winning many awards for acting, I expected something better. Definitely won't rewatch
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the best of the best korean bl
It is a story that from beginning to end is deep and cruel. shows how you don't necessarily have to share a blood bond with someone for them to be your family and refuge It shows us how life goes on and sometimes we are the ones left behind thinking about what we could have done well and what we couldn't. It shows us the prejudiced love that some parents have where, blinded by this, they end up hurting and damaging the lives of their children. They show us how a relationship can have love but that doesn't mean they will be together forever. They show us how people are going to come into our lives who are going to leave their mark on us, whether for better or worse, but who are going to help us develop as people.Was this review helpful to you?
Go Young's Tragic Autobiography
The best way to describe this show is snapshots of our main character Go Young's (Nam Yoonsu) life. We first meet him in college, where his queerness makes him a loner. This doesn't stop his pursuit of love, but not all romantic encounters are created equal. Go Young finds again and again that love requires not just the right person, but also the right circumstances. In his quest to figure out what love looks like and how to make relationships work, we see him continue to get his heart broken, both by his own faults and his partners'.I think what really sold me on this show was the way it was done. It felt like it was being told as if Go Young had written his own autobiography, where he emphasized what he found important and left out the details that seemed too mundane. We get glimpses into his life and his relationships, without ever getting to see his day-to-day life. What happens in an episode may be a few weeks or a year, depending on how important the events felt to Go Young himself. Each relationship he enters presents new challenges, and unable to navigate them, Go Young continues to feel tired and alone. I did not expect such depth of issues on queerness coming from a Kdrama, and it was done beautifully. The issues were never taken lightly or laughed at, and the relationships were portrayed in such a realistic way that it truly felt like this could be someone's autobiography. It was unfortunately sadder than I had anticipated, and the realism just emphasized the tragedy, but it was beautiful nonetheless.
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A Powerful, Beautiful, Gritty Work of Art
This is one powerful, beautifully written and wonderfully produced work of art.I want to say it was not your typical BL but in all honesty it was not a BL at all. Had it had a happy ending it would have been ruined.
This series touched me all the way to my core. So many of the damaged, broken, painful relationships felt horribly familiar.
I have decided to consider this a modern day Asian version of Maurice (E M Forster/Merchant Ivory) except there was no 'sort of' happy ending.
As someone who has lived a life that seems to always be faintly touched by sadness I identified fully with Go Young's character. My manic depressive nature reveled in the absolutely blue tone and mood of this whole production.
For gay men living today the series left few stones unturned. It beautifully renders the reality of guilt-ridden, devoted, not-so-devoted relationships with sometimes good and sometimes unworthy mothers. It touches on the many lousy paternal relationships. With No Yeong Su's character it honestly depicts those of us who hate ourselves for being so different and so hated by many in the world that we never ever gain enough courage to live our lives openly and honestly. The scene at the end of the relationship when No Yeong Su is on the floor just accepting the beating broke my heart. It was as if he felt so absolutely unworthy that he simply accepted his fate. The series dealt with those of us that are so damaged that when we are in a good and nurturing relationship we don't realize it and inevitably damage or end them only to realize, too late, that the relationship was a good thing.
I almost forgot to include a major character—RELIGION!
How could I when religion has played such a major, horrifying, world hatred-and self-hatred inducing role in the lives of so many members of the lgbtq+ community? But I guess, I could be forgiven because while it was there it pretended to assume the role of a background character. Introduced by Go Young's mother, insidious and serpent-like it slithered its way through her life and his impacting both because clearly there had been a moment when she had him 'caught up' in her efforts to 'fix him'. She spent so much of her time on screen praying for a miracle that never came.
I could go on and on but I think it best to stop here so that viewers can unravel and experience this for themselves.
I want to thank the production team for creating such a wonderful series. I want to thank Sang Young Park, the writer of the novel for doing such a beautiful job of realistically depicting the typical, unvarnished life of many gay men. I want to thank the actors for an amazing, amazing job especially Nam Yoon Su and Na Hyun Woo for their powerful performances.
On x.com user Rafa @dongttaro wrote "BREAKING NEWS: Love In the Big City (2024) received a 55 minute standing ovation from me in my living after watching it for the 3th(sic) time" …
Were we in a theatre, I too would give this a 55-minute standing ovation.
As for watching it again… it really touched too close to home 😭 I would end up drowning in my own grief. In time, I will probably find the courage to watch the happier moments at the beginning of Go Young's relationships.
I will end with this… I cannot recommend this series enough. To anyone coming across this review, I say please watch Love In the Big City. It is truly brilliant.
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