Love in the Big City (2024)

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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Doloroso, real e comovente.

"Love the big city" foi o BL mais lindo, real e comovente que já assisti.

É uma obra dramática que explora temas complexos e profundos, levando-me a profundas reflexões ao longo da exibição.
Todas as performances do elenco foram excepcionais, mas gostaria de ressaltar a atuação do Nam Yoon-su.

Acompanhar a trajetória de Yoon-su como Go Yeong foi, em alguns momentos, frustrante e doloroso, mas também trouxe esperança em outros. Foi uma verdadeira montanha-russa de emoções, eu experimentei altos e baixos. No entanto, esses sentimentos não perduravam por muito tempo. Embora as vivências de Go Yeong sejam dolorosas, o drama não nos deixa exaustos ou sobrecarregados, pois alterna de forma eficaz entre momentos intensos e leves.
O desenvolvimento de Go Yeong durante a narrativa é lento e quase imperceptível, mas a resiliência do personagem é clara. A maneira como Yoon-su se apropriou do personagem foi surpreendente, fazendo com que parecesse uma extensão de si mesmo. As experiências do Yeong são dolorosamente reais, algo que Yoon-su conseguiu transmitir de forma impressionante, como se fossem suas próprias vivências. Nos seus olhos, era possível ver o peso das lutas de Go Yeong. E nas cenas ao lado de seus parceiros românticos, a sensação era de que ele vivia aquela paixão verdadeiramente.
Yoon-su me fez sentir uma verdade tão intensa que não consegui separá-los em ator e personagem; parecia que era a mesma pessoa lidando com aqueles desafios, questionamentos e descobertas.
A performance de Yoon-su foi, de fato, brilhante!

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Ascenseur émotionnel et réalité brute (l'amour n'est pas rose)

Beaucoup d'adjectifs me traversent l'esprit pour définir ce drama. Pourtant, j'ai l'impression qu'ils ne suffisent pas à capturer mon sentiment à son sujet. Unique et réaliste, il est fort tant par ses thématiques et sa remise en question que par son éventail d'émotions qui traverse les personnages, mais aussi le téléspectateur.

Dès le départ, le ton est donné. L’histoire ne prendra pas la route principale, préférant s’aventurer sur les chemins épineux. Et tant mieux ! On suit Go Yeong, un homosexuel qui tente de trouver une forme d'équilibre dans sa vie et le grand amour, malgré le regard critique de la société. Au fil de l’intrigue, il apprend, expérimente, se découvre et grandit. Il sort de ce drama quelques vagues de The Eighth Sense. Une forme de guérison et d’apprentissage dans un style différent, mais sensible et émouvant.

Tout d'abord avec sa rencontre avec Kim Nam Gyu (Kwon Hyuk). À ce moment, il n’est pas prêt à recevoir son amour. En rencontrant No Yeong Su (Ha Hyun Woo), il se voulait prêt, mais son partenaire ne l’était pas. Gyu Ho (Jin Ho Eun) était son amour idéal. Celui qu’on rêve de rencontrer. L’amour ne demande pas d’autorisation. Il arrive et s’installe confortablement, parfois, on ne réalise sa présence qu'une fois qu'il s'est échappé. Exactement comme la relation entre Go Yeong et Gyu Ho. Cette relation qui avait tout de l’amour parfait, mais elle s’est envolée pour des diverses. Si pendant un temps, Go Yeong se réconforte aux côtés de Habibi (Kim Won Joong), ce n’est qu’une aventure fugace et qui ne s’approche pas de Guy Ho, son véritable amour.

Ce n’est pas un drama confortable dont on se délecte chaleureusement au coin du feu. Au contraire, c’est un ascenseur émotionnel d’une grande sensibilité et d’une réalité, parfois brutale, mais toujours émouvante. Chaque événement de la vie de Go Yeong saisit le téléspectateur au travers de l’espoir, de l’envie de trouver l’amour, de l’incertitude, de la rencontre de nouvelles personnes. Mais aussi de vieilles amitiés, des rencontres qui n’aboutissent pas ou encore des sujets plus tabous, comme le VIH et l’IVG. Ces deux thèmes sont abordés sans trop de profondeurs, cela dit, ils y sont.

L’ensemble de la distribution apporte un caractère unique à l’histoire. Derrière son magnifique sourire, Nam Yoon Su est un acteur brillant. Malgré les critiques reçues, il n’a pas sourcillé et a offert un personnage poignant au travers de ses larmes et de son sourire chaleureux. Aucun des personnages n’est tout blanc ou tout noir, ils ont du contrastes. Chacun possède son tempérament, ses qualités et ses défauts. Ils font des erreurs, mais ils se remettent en question et réussissent lorsqu’ils parviennent à s’en donner les moyens. On est également loin d’une quelconque forme de moralisation. Encore une fois, le réalisme est décuplé.

Les baisers et les scènes sexy ont renforcé les traits des personnages et de leur relation. C’était intime avec une belle mise en scène jonglant entre élégance et pudeur. Certains dialogues sont parfois fins avec des sous-entendus amusants ou, au contraire, crus au possible, qui collent parfaitement à ce que l’histoire veut renvoyer.

L'amour, c'est compliqué. Ça fait autant de bien que de mal. Ça nous rend aussi heureux que malheureux. Pourtant, peu importe les blessures, la plupart d'entre nous cherchons ce sentiment qui nous rend uniques aux yeux d'une personne. D'ailleurs, une grande partie de sa richesse est là, ce drama parle à tout le monde, peu importe son orientation. Go Yeong est gay, et je suis une femme hétéro. Pourtant, ce qu'il ressent, ce qu'il traverse, ce sont des expériences que j'ai également connues, parce qu'on peut tous s'identifier à ce sentiment.
Mais comment chercher ce qu'on ignore ? Au départ, Go Yeong est sûr d'avoir déjà aimé, mais est-ce vraiment le cas ? Pour moi, son premier amour, son vrai premier amour, c'est Gyu Ho. Ces deux syllabes laissées sur la lanterne. Chaque relation de Go Yeong l'a fait évoluer et grandir. Cependant, celle avec Gyu Ho était vraie, vivante et chargée d'amour.

Pour finir, j'ai souvent mentionné que le jour où nous aurons un KBL avec des épisodes d'au moins 40 minutes, alors ce sera comme un matin de Noël à chacun d'eux. Ce fut le cas.

Il ne fait aucun doute que Love in the Big City est l’un des meilleurs dramas de cette année. À la fois doux et brut, mais réel et puissant.

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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•｡ )

Leia Mais

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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Realistic but discontinuous

I found it particularly difficult to connect with the series at first. The first two episodes were not at all interesting to me. I didn't like the "humor" scenes that weren't funny at all and I simply hated the protagonist's heterosexual friend. Asian series tend to portray women as if they were crazy and/or annoying and this was exactly what happened here. It was a relief when she got married and left. I almost felt physical pain when she came back to annoy the audience in another episode, but fortunately it was only a few scenes.
The series improves A LOT from episode 3 onwards and reaches its peak in episode 6. One of the problems with this show is that it changes drastically when it switches from one story arc to another (each one representing a relationship of the protagonist). This makes the story become irregular and discontinuous. All three relationships were well-constructed and the entire cast rocked, but when there was a boyfriend change, it felt like one series ended and another began. The fourth "relationship" seemed unnecessary to me. The last two episodes dragged on and were hard to watch, because I couldn't understand what the character was looking for in that relationship that obviously had no future. The series ends with a bitter aftertaste, which I wouldn't recommend to anyone who is sad or depressed. I remember that after episode 6, I thought: "I hope the series doesn't end with him alone and bitter, partying with his friends, who would be presented as the substitute loves for his failed romances." Unfortunately, that's exactly how it ended, a total anticlimax.

Despite having been born into an evangelical family and having had experiences with religious gays facing psychological conflicts (like boyfriend number 2), I admit, however, that I have some difficulty understanding the protagonist at times. I haven't read the book, which leaves my judgment impaired, but I can't understand why the protagonist doesn't fight for his relationship with Gyu Ho. The conversation between the two at the airport is quite difficult to digest. He simply gives up on the other, without there being anything that seems to justify it. He had already regretted having ignored the photographer's feelings in the first episodes, so why repeat the experience with someone he liked much more? In the last two episodes, the protagonist goes through an excruciating depressive journey thinking about a guy he could simply call and ask for forgiveness, but he chooses not to. Why choose to suffer?
Maybe I'm being a little harsh on the character, maybe I also "choose" to suffer at certain moments in life, but it's easier to judge others than yourself, isn't it?

Even though I didn't like episodes 1, 2, 7 and 8, I think the series is worth watching for its great realism, for the courageous way it portrays the harshness of LGBTQIA+ life in South Korea, tackling issues such as religious homophobia, internalized homophobia, prejudice against HIV-positive people, depression, suicide, the maturation and loneliness of gay men, etc. I praise the production and the cast for this series.

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He was given the opportunity for love twice and did not hold onto it

Okay, first off, this is not BL. As you can see from one of the tags, it's a gay romance. Do I wish that it was a happy gay romance? Of course I do! But, just like real life, we get a few frogs along the way until we can actually get to our happily ever after—and this is what this series is doing.

There were times I wanted to slap the character Ko Yeong. From watching this series, I believe that he was in two out of the four relationships where his significant others actually loved him. He unfortunately was too immature for the first one, and I guess he wanted Sim Gyu Ho to live his life for himself and achieve all that he could because he was contemplating giving up an opportunity to remain with Ko Yeong. But I honestly believe that he felt something deep for him, as it seems he's the only one he ever told about Kylie, as he never told his best girlfriend and his three male friends.

With his second relationship with No Yeong Su, how did he actually think it was going to end after seeing his thesis on homosexuality? That guy, if he DID have feelings for him, was WAY deep in the closet and was not going to come out for him. With his life already being crappy at that time, it's understandable that he did what he did after their breakup, as he must have felt that he keeps being dealt a crappy hand in life. I honestly did not understand him and his fourth relationship, as I was more focused on the fact that he started this relationship a year after his breakup with Sim Gyu Ho and Habibi even took him to Thailand, where he and Sim Gyu Ho went on their first and only trip together. So, it kind of seemed doomed from the start to me, as he seemed to be thinking about his experience with his recent ex-boyfriend. And the ending is an open ending, knowing that Sim Gyu Ho is back in South Korea for a short time, which is painful for us viewers as Ko Yoeng has still not found his HEA.

I must say that his interactions with Choi Mi Ae and his three friends were one of the highlights of this series, as I liked to see their interactions with Ko Yeong.

So, all in all, it was a good telling of a story of growing up and (hoping) to find love along the way. It's just his fault that he was too blind to see that the opportunity for love was given to him not once, but twice, and he let both chances slip away from him.

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Lonely in the City

Completed.
I told sunset abt you is still my favorite; hard to beat the intensity that it packed in such a short run. but this comes close, ep 1-5 were stellar. It fizzles a little bit from 6 onward but I feel like it a great representation of growing up. When young we constantly look for excitement while trying to
Learn as much from the universe as we can. As we evolve we realize that the mundane is inevitable and come to peace with it.

I hope this isn’t reduce to being seen as just a BL, it’s not. It’s an exploration of growth and loneliness. I hope people who are not interested in the genre still watch it. Give it a chance.

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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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