This was, without a doubt, the most realistic kdrama i have seen in a long time. Its portrayal of gay relationships, friendships and the challenges faced by the queer community was spot on.

Go Young's life was a rollercoaster, constantly searching for true, lasting love. The show captures four different relationships in his life, two were more casual while the other two were serious. He even found his soulmate in one of them but its heartbreaking that they had to part ways. Life, however goes on and so does Go Young’s journey. I wish he had reunited with Gyu Ho in the end but at least we were treated to many great moments between them in the final episode.

Go Young, portrayed by Nam Yoon Su was truly a one of a kind character. His character's journey felt quite real. The show struck a perfect balance between light and heavy moments, just when things seemed overwhelming, it would quickly shift back to a lighter tone in the next episode. It created a beautifully complex emotional experience, delivering both heartwarming and heart wrenching moments.

What i liked most about Go Young was his resilience. Despite all the hardships he faced, he remained steadfast. He approached everything with optimism, even as he struggled with loneliness and an unfulfilled longing for genuine, lasting love. He found that love with Gyu Ho but unfortunately, it wasnt meant to last. Among all his relationships, the chemistry between Go Young and Gyu Ho was undeniable. They both lived their lives to the fullest, despite the ups and downs and always managed to sort out their differences and come back together, until Gyu Ho left for Shanghai.

Aside from his relationship with Gyu Ho, i absolutely loved Go Young's friendship with Mi Ae and his close knit group of gay besties. I was disappointed that Mi Ae disappeared after the first two episodes, she could have remained in contact even after her marriage. It was odd not to see her even when Go Young’s mother passed away. Despite that, their friendship was so deep, like soulmates that i wished she had stayed in his life during both good and bad times. As for his three gay best friends, they were the best characters in the whole show. They stood by him through everything and one of my favorite scenes was when they created ruckus at the hospital while Go Young was recovering also when Go Young and his gay friends were dancing to a girl group kpop song at the center of the club, it reminded me of a news story i saw on twitter about two gay men in seoul fighting over (G)I-DLE’s Soyeon’s part in Super Lady. They portrayed gay life in seoul very realistically, lol.

The show also addressed sensitive topics like HIV, internalized homophobia and family rejection, all while keeping its lighthearted tone intact.

Although the show did a fantastic job portraying the story realistically and covering all the volumes of the novel, the limited episode count made the pacing feel rushed, especially in the beginning. Thats my only criticism of the drama.

Overall, Love in the Big City stands as one of the best queer dramas i have ever watched offering an authentic look at gay relationships and the challenges that come with them.