Love in the Big City

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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Not a BL but worth every penny the taxpayer spent....

Of course this is not a BL, it's a drama about a gay man. We see a real depiction of gay life in Korea with all the harsh realities Korean society (and many other) offers. There is no pink-washing of reality, there is just reality in an unapologetic way. Of course we wished for Ko Young to have a happy life. But life is tough, espeically as woman or gay man. I am glad the Korean culture ministry spend tax money on this show, because it's an important piece of education too. And because it's not a BL, we don't get the happy end Ko so much deserves.

One of the best gay shows ever produced even when some parts of the story were not perfect or not expanded and explained in a way I wished for (mother/son for example). On the plus side is the great acting, especially for the MLs who never played a gay character (and went into it giving 110%), and the stunning visuals.

So overall I can only recommand everyone to watch this series, 400 minutes worth spending!

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A raw and realistic depiction of a gay man's search for eternal love and himself

This is quite an emotional roller coaster of a story. I never read the novel and didn’t know much about the drama. I thought this might be your typical romantic-comedy but actually, this is a very realistic portrayal of a gay man searching for eternal love, and growing up along the way.

From the first episode, you know this is not your typical BL. The portrayal of the friendship, late night clubbing and hunting, and the drunken hookups are raw and real. “Love in the Big City” doesn't shy away from the harsh reality of finding love, and the difficulty compounds when you are a gay man in a conservative society.

Ko Yeong’s growth is shown through his different romantic relationships with a few men. You can see him grow from a fun-loving young man not believing in love, to realizing he might have lost the love of his life. Each relationship is unique and all have a very interesting start. This drama reminds me of the American TV show “Queer as Folk”. It might not be as daring, but daring enough to cause controversies in Korea.

When Ko Yeong met Nam Gyu, he was young and not ready to be loved. Nam Guy’s unconditional and persistent display of love did not end on a good note. When Ko Yeong was ready and met Yeong Su, it was the other party that’s not ready. It’s unfortunate because they had such a sexy vibe going on between them. Gyu Ho is the match made in heaven. They are both so adorable together and just click. At that time, they are both fighting real life’s challenges and unable to balance romance with career’s demands and reality’s tests of their love. By the time Ko Yeong realized what he had lost, it was a little too late. His meeting of Habibi is interesting and also somewhat of a half-baked story. I was having a hard time understanding Ko Yeong’s last message to Habibi. I thought it was just a fling without much deep feelings, but his message sounded more serious than I thought.

A highlight of the show is the friendship between Ko Yeong and Mi Ae. When you are an outcast, it’s really a blessing to have a friend like that through the highs and lows of your life. But as they grow older, such a friendship has to evolve as they get on with their lives. I had wished to see more of Mi Ae towards the second half of the drama, and not just that somewhat useless drinking scene with her sister-in-law.

I gotta give props to Nam Yoon Su for going all out in this drama. He really didn’t care for the criticisms directed at him. Not only was his acting great, he did not shy away from all the kisses and sexy scenes. In fact, I think he was a little too earnest like he’s going to someone’s face each time. I would have liked him to pull back a little on a couple kisses to show a more romantic side.

As I mentioned, the whole drama is about Ko Yeong’s growth through his relationships. Personally, I am not a big fan of this style of writing. At one point, I find it becomes repetitive when all we see is him going from one relationship to another. However, I am emotionally invested. I cry with Ko Yeong as he gets hurt and suffers through life. Throughout the drama, I was rooting for him to live happily ever-after, either with Gyu Ho or someone else.

I do recommend “Love in the Big City” but don’t go into thinking this is another fluffy BL. The strength of this drama is its realism and how Ko Yeong lives with the scars of each relationship and grows from them, and finds himself.



p.s. the drama synopsis doesn't seem to be 100% correct.


Completed: 10/21/2024 - Review #501

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A man who had overflowing oceans of love but was clueless of tides and still survived !

Love in the big city is a bold exploration from South Korea of love, identity and complexities of being queer in a society that often makes you feel at odds with itself. The series takes us through the turbulent journey of Go Yeong, depicting his struggles, with family and societal pressure and yearning for love that sometimes feels both profound and frustrating.

Go Yeong's journey is a mosaic of heartache, never-ending longing and resilience to push through. If you go with the expectations of neat resolutions and everything black and white from this drama, you will be disappointed. His growth is portrayed with a certain nuance and realism, unfolding slowly and frustratingly over time.
The pressure he faces doesn't magically vanish overnight and the show captures the tension beautifully. It portrays the burden of his mother's denial regarding his sexuality and the struggles that stem from it. Sadly we live in a society where acceptance is such a luxury rather than a given.

His journey left a bittersweet taste in my mouth that felt earned and true to life. Yeong was a man who was loved throughout, sometimes too deeply to make him drown and others or sometimes with superficial pleasures to make him realise that the chaotic, mundane affectionate bond he left behind now lingers like a soft ache, a reminder of what love actually once was.

The series addresses heavy themes but it also highlights that joy can exist even in the darkest of times. Yeong's camaraderie with his gay friends brought such a vibrant color to this gloomy tale. Their scenes together drinking and dancing was a good counterbalance from the serious moments.

Found family trope is one of my favourites and his friendship with Mi Ae captured it beautifully. Honestly, I want what these two had, to choose to stand with each other through thick and thin with unwavering support, providing a safe harbour to each other amidst their daily exhausting grinds. Their bond is a gentle reminder that home is where the heart is and family is where you feel understood and accepted.
Though their friendship was not the sole focus of the story , it was beautiful until it lasted and the way they portrayed how both of them outgrew that bond was heartwrenching but so realistic!

Although it does have pacing issues here and there but its realistic depiction of the struggles and messy portrayal of love makes me want to overlook the flaws.

Overall, this stands out as an impactful drama where the MC is not a perfect man. It's messy but executed in a way where you want to sometimes knock some sense into him and sometimes just wrap your hands around him and tell him, it's going to be okay. It's not just a love story or your typical BL drama.
Recommended if you are looking for a thoughtful and emotional exploration of an imperfect character in a perfectly imperfect world.

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