Love in the Big City (2024)

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.

Leia Mais

BEST K-BL 2024

Nam Yoon Su undoubtedly delivered his most brilliant performance as an actor. From the beginning, I grasped the depth of the experience that awaited me. A show anchored in a raw, harsh, painful, but authentic reality. The work portrays with sublimated darkness the daily life of a young gay man in Seoul, exposing the inquisitive gaze of society and his family's opposition to his sexuality. He appears as a dynamic, playful figure, at the forefront of fashion, surrounded by a multitude of friends but carrying in him a sensitivity on the surface of the skin, chaining conquests without ever finding the chosen one of his heart. The true journey of our protagonist lies in his self-acceptance and his hopeless quest for love, a quest full of pitfalls. What particularly touched me was his kindness towards his mother despite her lack of support. I was receptive to solidarity between him and his roommate, who, on the contrary, gave in to family expectations. Despite divergent aspirations, their mutual support was unwavering, and I greatly appreciated their friendship, stronger than blood ties.

Each of his relationships had its charm, and each partner, in a somewhat strange way, revealed new facets of our heroes, creating a captivating dynamic where exchanges enriched them, sometimes without words, simply through a visually striking and disturbing carnal relationship for those used to seeing Nam Yoon Su in more reserved roles. I was fascinated by the wisdom of life transmitted through the dialogues of the characters, their erudition, their questions about identity and the quest for oneself. However, I would have a reservation about HIV prevention, sometimes addressed lightly: an approach like "okay for this time without protection" as if it were an option. On the cinematographic level, many scenes are distinguished by their remarkable staging. Although the entire BL is tinged with dark, often nocturnal or confined to the apartment, the shots always remain sublime. Nam Yoon Su has been able to create a synergy with each of his partners, carrying me as a time in his loneliness and pain. His interpretation deeply moved me, and I found this BL work of striking depth and realism. I can only warmly recommend it! 20/20.

Leia Mais

blended different tones very well - a must watch

Overall: there are very few series that manage to balance humor, romance, realism and sadness well, Love in the Big City is one of them. Based on the book Love in the Big City by Sang Young Park which I didn't read and I reviewed the series on its own merits. 8 episodes about 50 minutes each. Aired on Viki https://www.viki.com/tv/40771c-love-in-the-big-city

Content Warnings: (2 major ones, see my spoiler comment and how the romance plays out), harassment, unwanted outing, homophobia, non/dub con turned consensual, conversion torture (off screen), punch

What I Liked
- acting/chemistry
- supportive friends
- blended different tones very well
- sweet moments
- intimacy
- character growth
- production value

Room For Improvement
- exposition dump to introduce his friends
- series covered 10 years, so voice overs were used to show passage of time
- odd that a certain aspect wasn't discussed in episode 5
- episode 8 jumped back and forth between flashbacks and the present

Leia Mais

ONE OF THE BEST KDRAMAS IN 2024. YALL THIS IS CINEMA!

I'm speechless at how amazing this drama is --the story, cinematography, casting, acting, music, art direction wow everything was perfect. I rarely finish kdramas without skipping cos I get bored easily but this drama got my full attention from beginning to end. It's that good! No unnecessary fillers and the acting never felt fake (some BL dramas out there turn out cringe) --I even fell in love with the main character's best friends.

I hope more ppl would recognize and acknowledge this drama and casts especially after the hate it got from koreans. This drama deserves every good thing! I have lots of queer friends (i LOOOOVE them) and it perfectly showed their reality & struggles (i'm crying)

Just start watching this, give it a chance. You'll be surprised

Leia Mais

I went to find love but I didn't know how and where to find this "love" in this big city.

But, do I know what "love" is?
 
This is a story of a flawed person finding love and happiness in things that motivates him to write an award winning novel.
 
After a long time I had invested myself in something that makes me "think" of the consequences of the choices I make. It touched my heart in every episode as it felt like I was watching a person live through their ups and downs infront of my eyes.
 
✓What I appreciated:
 
• I loved how flawed, raw and realistic each and every character was. While watching them I was sure I know such people who would act this way.
• Supportive friends that everyone deserves! They were with him in thick and thin. Their bond was unbreakable!
• The pacing of the storyline was perfectly synced with characters. Each and every character was given equal importance to show their potential.
• Nam Yoon Su is the perfect cast this story can get! He made Go Young alive!
• This story shows, life is not a fairytale as you see in the kdramas. Sometimes it's fulfilling; sometimes you're barely making it through the day. You cry, fight, and curse your destiny, but you don't give up; you live on, even if this big, cold city fails you a hundred times.
• I can't believe how much power this story holds that a nation was trying to take this down.

✓Room for improvement:
 
• I was dying to know about Gyu. But the story didn't allow us to know more about him after his departure.
 
✓Thoughts on the ML:
 
Go Young didn't want to settle for normal and always wanted that "fluttering" feeling. That's why he's been reckless all his youth. He's looking for something he doesn't know. He wanted love, but when he got that, he overlooked that for something else he doesn't have. From my pov, he only loved one guy; others just made him "grow" in life. They were his mistakes and life lessons as well. When he said, "I want to cry, but I can't squeeze tears," I felt that. I swear I'm not a crybaby, but up until episode 4, I couldn't stop tearing up. But after a while, just like ML, I got used to the sorrows.
 
Overall, it's a realistic queer story that will make you realise if you found love, then you're the luckiest person because someone in the world is still searching for that but hasn't found it yet.

Leia Mais

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

Leia Mais

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.

Leia Mais

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.

Leia Mais

IT WAS PERFECTLY EXECUTED

This is my first ever review so bear with me,
I honestly dont know what to say, i just loved everything about it, especially how realistic it was compared to BLs. Obviously since its queer/lgbt its elements were different compared to our standard bls. Id like to say the acting the cast the story, everything was beautiful 😭 also warning spoilers ahead

The ending for me was perfect, i was scared to complete it after seeing people mentioning not being a happy end or so. But i loved it it was well made and just with the right amount of emotions. His journey to figure himself out, heal himself and find his perfect love. Eventho he found true love supposedly he had obstacles and insecurities to face, questions to answer. I so lowkey wished him just happiness and everything to get better. But realistically it was a fresh breeze of air for me getting something different. The ending wasnt sad rather open and seeing him, smile makes me so happy.

I lowkey still want to know how the other two of his main exs are doing especially Gyu Ho, cuz gurl i loved them so much together... There were ups and downs in their relationship and they hadnt met each other at the ideal time and all but it was perfect and beautiful. When gyu ho ran from home with suitcase i was worried but yh they were still figuring out. The relationship of theirs could have been better, but they were trying and they are humans, they were real rather than an idolized version nowadays. I was hoping to see towards tbe end of them encoutering each other and having maybe a rekindle or proper closure especially since the bartender guy did say he is coming to kr soon. Their relationship was so Pure overall compared to all the exes.

For the second guy was it Hamin??? I hate him but lowkey i understand him and his role, i hayed tgat he was a coward but honestly who wouldnt be, not many are able to open up about their sexuality especially due to how they were raised and the world we live in. Evebtho young had difficulties too but still he had passed and accepted him self more than hamin and was able to be a bit more open abt it. I believe one day Hamin will, be abke to go through it, but yh regardless it was disturbing for me thinking in youngs position especially when hamin was writing an article abt sins of homosexuality and using his time with young as a experience. That was really aghhhh for me, and young eventjo he was broke after reading it he still hoped haMin wouldn't be this bad or whatever. Anyways id like to know how or what he is doing in US now.

As for Mi Ae i was honestly hoping to see more of their friendship to with Young but i guess thats how life is realistically, people come people go, they both were their for each others important time and so but it shows people grow up people move on people forget. Even tho it was limited it was impactfull especially for young.

Nonetheless i am so in love with his three besties aghhhhh they made me want to scream their relationship was profound for me and pure, especially the hospital scream i cried hard like damm looking at them (happy tears), i aim to have frienship lile theirs, eventho they werent everywhere but they were very impactfull and important tbey helped him go through his toughest and best times, i so love themmmm.



Now about Young ahhhhh i have no idea what to say especially Yoon Su as an actor he really pulled it offff i seriously didnt expect to see this much difference or how he portrayed the character so welll. Idk if anyone else could have done a job as good as he did, a proud pat on his back plssss. His character was flawlessly done in my perspective especially how even if the end Eventho it wasnt what he wanted he still started accepting how things were and yh not all his feelings and worries were relieved but he was in a better understanding, ofc not the best he will still make mistakes but he is a step closer to having a proper figuring out of life.

I honestly dont know what else to say, i have alot to share but damn it was beautiful, i cried, i did cry but it wasnt as painful or emotionally draining of a cry as i imagined, it was sad but not too bad.
Finally will i REWATCH it... Yes i will

Pls forgive if any mistakes or offended you

Leia Mais

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 !!

Leia Mais