Love in the Big City

the reality of things

go young was a uni student who only liked to party, to go out with his friends and kiss/have sex with guys. the way he started maturing/growing up throughout the drama was good, every relationship he had with his boyfriends, helped him out to be a better person, but i also think he kept having mess relationships.

ngl, while reading some reviews, my mind kinda changed. go young was a person after all. during the relationships he had, i hated him for doing or not doing things that annoyed me, like the guy who had internalized homophobia, he had said and done a lot of things that i kept asking myself why tf he was still with him or gyuho. gyuho became especial to me that i didnt want him to break up with him, even though their relationship was "perfect", the monotony was there, the arguments they had even if it was over ridiculous things, i hated the fact that go young didnt understand the reason(s) why gyuho kept arriving late (he is a nurse, give him a break for gods sake) but he then understood.

i cried at the end. i was still sad about how they couldve meet each other but didnt, and the year go young didnt have any relationship was probably because he couldnt move on because of gyuho. he still missed him, and we can see that when he is back again at bangkok with the japanese man.

the things the drama shows its reality. thats how relationships works (and im talking about friendships and romantic rs). the end comes by go young spending time with his friends after he moves on, being single for a year now and learning about the things life has given him. thats how life works.

ps. i wanna say that i didnt like the buff friend he had especifically (and i saw no one talking about him) because he had this complex of regina george (kind of like the others too, but not as much as him)

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The city didn't seem that big

I like this more than the book. I didn't like the voice in which the book was told. I don't know if it was a problem with the writing or the translation.

I don't understand why there's a kdrama and a film adapted from this same book. I'm sure there are more LGBTQIA+ stories to bring to life. Even the ones that don't get awards deserve to be told.

I'm still in the middle of watching the film.

This adaptation added a lot of value to the story. It did have its shortcomings. Sometimes the friends seemed too stereotypically gay, with gestures and a tone that didn't seem natural. Even the main sometimes did that. The relationship with the mother seems changed from what I can remember from the book. You don't have to redeem every character.

The story and the main were childish sometimes but I guess that's with a purpose as well. It's still an important story, with important themes and important representation to a community that is still so marginalised.

The story isn't about love. Ko Yeong didn't lose the relationships because he was immature, even though he appeared immature at times. Kylie is softened up to the maximum in the story and sometimes we don't even realise how much of an impact it had in Ko Yeong's life. Only one person in his life knows about Kylie. He didn't travel to China with Gyu Ho because of Kylie. He could let his "doormat" boyfriend lose an excellent opportunity because of him. He chose to love, even if love meant loss. Kylie affected his self worth. He didn't think he was worthy of being chosen.

I'm hoping we have more Korean queer shows. And I'm hoping people stop harassing the actors for portraying gay characters. I hope the actors don't have such a hard time in the future. They did great.

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LOVED LOVED LOVED

This drama broke and healed me at the same time.
Honestly loved it sm it was extremely realistic and humane and raw and beautiful and intense and just my heart was so full but so empty after finishing idk how to explain just please watch it.

it’s so touching and you can tell the writers, directors, casts truly poured so much love and dedication into creating this masterpiece which makes me just appreciate it even more. Like from the writing, actors, production, cinematography everything was so well done.

anywys final comment: gyu ho is literally my pookie bear. my cutie patootie. my everything. i love him sm. the princess friend group gave me life. go young deserves the world. plz everyone go watch it !!

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It was more deeper than I expected

One step ahead from other KBL . I never watched queer shows before so I had no idea but now I am touched . This is definitely an exception .

Disclaimer - This is my personal review from my own feelings . Thank You . ( Ahead Spoiler !!! )

OVERVIEW ~ Go Yeong , a gay man who is being unable to escape from this homophobic society . Trying to make his bore life slightly better by involving sexually with so many strangers . He is HIV positive but it was never revealed . The story is centered in his life . He tried to escape from this filthy situation but failed . He met Nam Gyu and both of them involved with each other, Go Yeong though Mr . Gyu was his true love but suddenly he realized this was not ' true ' love but familiarization . His best friend Mi Ae always supported him but after her marriage Go Yeong again became lonely . Then one day he met Gyu Ho and they fell in love with each other . After staying with him so long , Yeong finally realized he never felt so happy in his life which he is feeling now .

POSITIVE -
Acting - Top notch acting of every actors . The way Nam Yoon Su expressed the character perfectly is remarkable .
Visuals - Visuals are always best in Korean BL dramas . Here is no exception .
Cinematography - Definitely top tier .
Story - This is more deeper than common BL dramas . I am so glad that they have not showed the traditional romance
here . They tried to make this drama different and obviously they have succeed .
Scripts - The every sentence of Go Yeong is heart touching . The writer created the character Gyu Ho with so much
positive thoughts .
Music - I liked the light music at the end of the drama .

What I liked - I liked mostly the hugging scene in ep 6 in the bar . The hug tells so many emotions . And also every scenes of Go
Yeong and Gyu Ho including lying under the rain on the street , the lantern scene on ep 8 etc .
The ending is definitely heartwarming . When both of them made a wish with the lantern and caught each others
hands ohh this is definitely one of the best romantic and heart touching scene in the entire drama . The
friendship between Mi Ae and Gu Yeong is so lovely . When she encouraged Yeong at her wedding with singing
that funny but emotional song is really made my day happy .

What I have not liked -There are some scenes which are repeatedly . They showed the intimate scenes many times as I am not
into it so I felt uncomfortable sometimes . First two episodes are kinda boring for me . But honestly 95%
scenes of this story I liked .


OVERALL - I think this drama will be one of the best re watched KBL . Everything of this drama has deeper meaning , many learning things , what a gay man's life looks like in real life . Overall a solid 9.5/ 10 for me . ( ｡•ㅅ•｡ )

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I will never move on from this movie!!!!!!!

This is one of those movies that just gets you. It’s all about Go Yeong, a gay guy trying to deal with love, family drama, and the pressure to fit in. His roommate, Mi Ae, a straight woman, is the one who kinda shows us what’s going on in his life, and it’s a ride full of emotions, awkward moments, and real-life struggles.

Go Yeong’s love life? It’s complicated, to say the least. He’s got a mom who just can’t accept who he is, which causes a lot of tension. Then, when he finally meets Gyu Ho—a guy who seems like pure love, something real—he has to let him go. And that’s the part that hits hard. You can see how much it tears him apart, but he doesn’t have much of a choice. It’s one of those moments where love just doesn’t work out the way you want it to, and man, you feel it.

After Gyu Ho is gone, Go Yeong ends up following some random dude to Thailand for a monsoon vacation, like he’s trying to run away from everything. While he’s there, he’s constantly looking back at the good times, the love he lost, and just everything that didn’t go right. But even though he’s reminiscing about the past, he starts to grow. By the end of it, he’s a different person—stronger, more in tune with himself, and kinda accepting the fact that life doesn’t always go the way you plan.

This movie doesn’t sugarcoat anything. It’s real, emotional, and shows the messiness of love and life. It’s not just about finding the perfect love, but about learning to deal with heartbreak, tough family relationships, and figuring out who you are along the way. It’s the kind of movie that sticks with you long after, making you feel all the highs and lows right alongside Go Yeong.

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Chasing the thrill, hoping for love, self-sabotaging

Two episodes in I wasn’t sure if I could share everyone’s excitement about this series. I’ve seen people talking about it as this great breakthrough, a masterpiece, a game changer, and while I acknowledged how having a mainstream actor play a gay character and having actual national funding for a BL show was changing the landscape for kdramas. However, from a perspective of just a regular viewer, who ultimately expects to experience a good piece of televised fiction, I wasn’t really convinced.

Sure, the drama was well-produced, the acting was solid, I couldn’t really complain much about the story progression, as it felt pretty unforced. And yet, I couldn’t really resonate emotionally with the characters. Being it Go Young or his female friend Choi Mi Ae. I attributed it to the style of the story and the manner it was told. Time jumps, skipping important moments when people develop connections, not witnessing how they get closer or grow apart – it all made it difficult for me to develop an emotional connection with the characters as well.

It all changed around episode 3 or 4, e.i. during No Yeong Su and Go Young’s dating era. Their final encounter, during which Go Young ends up punching his (then already an ex) boyfriend was the turning point for me, the moment when I actually felt something (before I did tear up a bit when Go Young and Mi Ae reconnected, but this scene in the restaurant hit me waaay stronger). The look on Yeong Su’s face expressing both self-disdain and resignation really got me. Since then, I’d become more and more invested within every episode, getting used to the report-like narration and time jumps that stopped hindering my ability to immerse myself within a story and became just another tool to highlight its realism. From that moment onward, I did feel like I was given glimpses into different stages of Go Young’s life.

I loved the development of Go Young’s relationship with his mom and her gradual, quiet acceptance of his sexual orientation towards the end of her life. I started understanding Go Young more, noticing how he craves for love, but self-sabotages himself at the same time. That was a big theme for me in this drama, that’s how I saw it. Go Young is chasing love, but at the same time is not allowing it to happen. Affected by having to live with “Kyle”, being cheated on by a boyfriend who gave it to him, and a traumatising childhood experience of his father leading a double life all rendered him wanting love, but not really believing he deserves it.

Nam Gyu is too boring and clingy, so Go Young discards him in a pretty brutal, emotionless way. Then he gets himself entangled in a toxic relation with Yeong Su – a guy who pretty quickly starts to look like a red flag. Go Young clings to him almost in a similar manner like Nam Gyu clung to him before. Why? Partially probably because he was clearly very physically attracted to the guy and Yeong Su had a way to make a person feel like crap, just to throw them a bone from time to time, in order to keep them invested. But my take on it is that, because Yeong Su was never truly attainable, Go Young would end up trying harder. If Yeong Su actually got invested in their relationship 100% and dealt with his internalized homophobia, I’d wager Go Young would probably want out.

Finally, he meets Gyu Ho – probably the strongest candidate for a life-long partner. And yet he lets him go, despite two of them somehow managing to stay together, dealing with the challenges of every day life, its mundane aspects and gradual boredom that sets in their relationship. The relationship with Gyu Ho, while exposing Go Young’s somewhat immature idea of what love should be (a constant source of excitement), was still – in the end – the most mature one. Go Young and Gyu Ho try to resolve their issues, they attempt the rekindle the spark by going to Bangkok, and both work hard on studying Chinese in hope of moving to Shanghai together. And yet, in the end, Go Young sends Gyu Ho off alone, with a “blessing” to date other people. Once again sabotaging his chance for true love.

He doesn’t realize his mistake only until much later. But if they had a chance to have another go at their relationship, I’m not sure if he'd approach it differently. What happens after Gyo Ho’s departure, the ending to a "Habibi arch", the symbolic moving to a new place (as opposed to living in Mi Ae’s old apartment – which was highlighted in Go Young’s dream in one of the earlier episodes as mirroring him being stuck in life, with no clear direction) gives some hope, I suppose?

What originally started as a story of Seoul party goers who don’t always make the most responsible life decisions, eventually turned into quite a deep portrayal of a scarred individual, who tries to navigate his life amidst all the challenges it throws at him. I ended up really enjoying the experience and can understand why this show got so much hype.

There is so much more to say about this drama and more layers to uncover, whether it's Mi Ae's 180 turn in her life attitude not long after getting an abortion, Yeong Su's extreme way of dealing with his sexuality, or Go Young's self-destructive behaviour after receiving gifts from his father. It definitely is one of these shows that leave an audience with a lot of "food for brain". To me, personally, next to The On1y One, it's the best BL drama I've watched (I'm aware not everyone considers it a BL) and also one of the best kdramas.

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The Brilliance Of This Series Is Its Omnitude

This is a rare gem that tells such an aggregate story in an uninhibited way. Not from a BL slant but from a gay man’s perspective. It is refreshingly honest, touching, and one of the most contemplatively deep series I have ever seen. The title is a bit of a misnomer to me, however. So much more than romantic love is explored in this series. It goes beyond classical definitions and allows us to see affection, devotion, attachments, friendships, and yes passion and intimacy as well with gradations within those feelings as well, all within its location of a big city only as an afterthought. It is one of the most powerful dramas of this year.

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