Love in the Big City (2024)

Absence of Acceptance 대도시의 사랑법

From the very first scene, you know this show isn't here to play it safe. It hits hard, right out of the gate, tackling the kind of deep, complicated topics a lot of people avoid. Go Yeong's story feels painfully real, he's drowning under the expectations of his family - dealing with the constant judgment from society and on top of that struggling with the kind of love that consumes you but might never be enough. His mom's denial of his sexuality isn't just a personal issue it's showing what so many families go through. They love their kids but can't reconcile that love with the traditions they've been brought up to believe. The show doesn't sugarcoat this and it's not here to hand out easy answers. It is messy and uncomfortable, the way it is when you're queer in a world where acceptance is still trying to catch up.

Go Yeong's growth isn't that epiphany that comes out of the blue and then suddenly everything just falls in place. It is slow; it is frustrating at times. The pressure of fitting into the mold wanted by society and family does not just disappear, and the show keeps the tension alive. It's his journey, but at the same time, it says something many people are feeling right now.. The struggle of trying to figure out where you fit when the world is constantly shifting and when who you are is in direct conflict with who everyone expects you to be. But the beauty of it all is in the balance. The show manages to be introspective and deep without tipping into melodrama and in the midst of all the heaviness there are these little moments of humor - these glimmers of light that remind you that even in the darkest times - there's still room for joy.

Mi Ae is another key piece of this puzzle. She's proof of how important chosen family is especially in LGBTQ+ narratives. In a country like Korea where traditional family values are so embedded in the culture - acceptance doesn't always come from your biological family. Mi Ae and Go Yeong's relationship is that quiet reminder that the people who really have your back aren't always the ones you share DNA with -- they're the ones who choose to walk alongside you through the mess and the beauty of it all. It's a challenge to the typical idea of family and it's done in a way that feels refreshing and necessary.

I think this show is an emotional gut-punch in the best way possible. Messy love, identity, and family are all told so delicately that you just can't help but get pulled in. I also really like how real these characters are: the struggles are real, and it doesn't shy away from hard truths with respect to what being queer entails. Heartbreaking at times, hopeful at others, and yet another reminder that love in all forms leaves its mark on you, even when the happy ending isn't there. I am STILL not over it!

Three men, one love.

Kim Nam-gyu : He represents the kind of love that Go Yeong wasn’t prepared to face - intense, genuine, and emotionally demanding. He embodies everything Go Yeong might have needed but wasn’t ready to reciprocate. Nam-gyu is the "what if" love, the one who could have been a transformative presence in Go Yeong’s life but circumstances, timing, and Go Yeong's own hesitations held them back from ever fully realizing that potential. He is the person who stood on the edge of becoming something more, someone who could have brought stability but it never quite happened.

Youngso: He is the love that Go Yeong was finally ready for, but tragically the other one wasn’t prepared to meet him at the same place. Unlike the fleeting or incomplete relationships of his past, with Young-so, Go Yeong had reached a point of emotional maturity where he was willing to invest, to open up, and to fully commit. He saw in Young-so the potential for something lasting, something real. But did not get the love he needed in return,

Gyu-ho: His true first love -- the one who he genuinely loved and who wholeheartedly loved him in return. There was no pretense or uncertainty; Gyu-ho represented the love that Go Yeong needed, someone who truly saw him, accepted him, and loved him for who he was. In him, Go Yeong found a sense of security that had been missing in his other relationships. It wasn’t just infatuation or fleeting passion - this was a love built on understanding and care. He is the one who made him feel safe, seen, and wanted in a way no one else had. He was the anchor Go Yeong needed, the one who grounded him in a world that often felt unstable.

Gyu-ho was that person, the one who embodied everything Go Yeong had been searching for and, at last, found.

His only Wish.

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On that note, can we just take a moment to appreciate the incredible talent of the actors in this show? Like seriously they are absolute STARS and they completely brought these characters to life in a way that left me SHOOK! Go Yeong is portrayed with such vulnerability and I am just in awe of how the actor captures all those complex emotions. You can literally see the weight of his struggles in his eyes - he perfectly conveys the heartache and longing that makes you root for him every step of the way.

One last thing: as someone who's read the novel - I can confidently say they absolutely nailed it with this adaptation! Seriously, they managed to keep the essence of the story intact while adding just the right amount of creativity to the characters and their struggles. You can tell the creators really understood the source material and respected the things that make it so impactful.

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WE COULD HAVE BEEN BEAUTIFUL

"In the heart of Seoul’s electric hum,
Where towers scrape the sky, and dreams collide,
I found you, a fleeting ghost in the throng,
A silhouette dancing in the neon glow. "

I'M CRYING WHILE WRITING THIS

I felt this, entirely, every bit of it, laughter at its sincerest, a symphony of unspoken hopes, echoing through the alleyways of solitude, two men wear their hearts like a fragile charm, amidst the shadows, their secrets intertwined. It is very hurtful, very sickening but it is the true testament of the life of every gay man with HIV. This is beyond a lovestory, it is a tragedy and if you can not handle pain it is going to break you because it is one of those shows that will teach you that you can't always have everything that you want.


I am in love with the cast, they did pull it off, with perhaps the deepest understanding of their characters, you can feel the frantic pursuit of love in a very vast city, the characters are but small insignificant people, but they make themselves matter, every emotion gets deeply etched, once again if you are after depression you are on the right track.


Damn, who wrote the bloody script, I can't forget that one too, every word feels deep enough to cut the soul and you feel it in your marrow and ask yourself how is it that fate could be as heartless, but luckily enough they told no lies at all, this is what has always been happening in a patriarchal society like Korea where for gay men survival can be a living hell.


They shouldn't lie to you, this isn't fiction, this story is the true awfulness of a country like Korea to gay people. But will you love the story? Yes. Everything about this series has been executed to perfection, from the sombre scenes, the cruel heartbreaks, the longing of all characters for a place to call a loving home, rejection from the family and persecution of the world, its all in here and it is enough.


Definitely one of the best Korean BLS of all time, I'd trade a lifetime for it, even Netflix after all life isn't just rainbows and butterflies and if you feel you can not take in too much tragedy, don't bother otherwise, watch at your own risk

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