Love in the Big City (2024)

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

Citeste mai mult

An Incessant Surge of Emotional Upheavel!

This show has left me in anguish, despair, hope, loneliness and a relentless magnitude of emotional turmoil, that is going to take ages for me to heal. Every line, every scene, every emotion cuts skin deep and makes you relive the life of the protagonist, as you sincerely long for his life to get better. It may open up unhealed wounds for some, and if God forbid, you may have lived the life of an LGBT individual, be ready for sleepless nights that the situations flashed in the show might punch your guts with!

This show, in its innate sincerity have served one of the RAWEST and REALISTIC forms of representation of queer life. Every episode made me relive the adolescent joy of new found relationship, and at the end of the next episode left me in absolute emptiness as though it's narrating my own life ordeals. It's as RAW as it can get. The fear of losing hope, the feeling of uncertainties in every step of your adult life, losing friends, dealing with the harsh denial of parents, dating a strongly religious and closeted partner, and also the most taboo topics such as HIV, the show absolutely doesn't shy from any of it!

In a world of heteronormative feminine centric BL dramas, that encash majorly on the looks and fetishes of its audience completely neglecting the negative repercussions it can have on an adolescent LGBT individual, where they are steered far from reality and make them set extremely unrealistic expectations from both relationship and family, only to pave the way for depression and disappointment in future, this show is a an extremely good and genuine steep that draws the necessary line between fiction and reality. Though I do certainly enjoy the optimism and ray of hope that some traditional BLs give, it sets extremely unattainable expectations which I feel does more harmful than good. The characters are GREY, and may not be reminiscent of your idealistic fictional protagonists.

ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT:
Even though this show has been a major milestone in how it deals with queer media, I did have some reservations regarding it. The choice of choosing four different directors to direct the four phases of the protagonists life seems a good idea to display the drastic arrays of life, but unfortunately makes it suffer from an incoherent narrative. The hurdles and losses the protagonists encounters through the passage of every two episodes is devastating enough, but it fails to show what impact it has on his mind clearly. People and issues just bluntly come and go, even though that is the way of life, but the initial fervours have little implications on his life moving ahead. Plus even though with the progression of HIV treatment, little has been shown on the implications of it on his health, though that may not have been the motive of the author. Packing a decade of the protagonists story in 8 episodes was a bit too fast paced for the audience to actually feel the depth and sensitivity of the most of the issues presented, albeit some viewers like me who have been through the protagonists shoes to understand the gravity of the situations.

THING THAT IRKED ME THE MOST:
I genuinely applaud and commend the leads for their bold and courageous attempt at displaying genuine intimacy and affection and sex drive on mainstream media, but one has to be really careful on what you show and ask for! Even though with the advent of PreP and HIV medications and use of condoms, having shared a decent amount of time in the gay dating pool, I am still of the stern opinion that YOUR PARTNER HAS TO ABSOLUTELY KNOW OF YOUR HEALTH CONDITION BEFORE YOU ENGAGE IN ANY SEXUAL ACTIVITY WITH HIM OR HER!! This is downright criminal and the poor soul is going to be traumatised for the rest of his life! And no form of contraceptive and medication have been proven to be 100% effective in prevention!

Thank you for my listening to my rant!

Citeste mai mult

Go Young's Tragic Autobiography

The best way to describe this show is snapshots of our main character Go Young's (Nam Yoonsu) life. We first meet him in college, where his queerness makes him a loner. This doesn't stop his pursuit of love, but not all romantic encounters are created equal. Go Young finds again and again that love requires not just the right person, but also the right circumstances. In his quest to figure out what love looks like and how to make relationships work, we see him continue to get his heart broken, both by his own faults and his partners'.

I think what really sold me on this show was the way it was done. It felt like it was being told as if Go Young had written his own autobiography, where he emphasized what he found important and left out the details that seemed too mundane. We get glimpses into his life and his relationships, without ever getting to see his day-to-day life. What happens in an episode may be a few weeks or a year, depending on how important the events felt to Go Young himself. Each relationship he enters presents new challenges, and unable to navigate them, Go Young continues to feel tired and alone. I did not expect such depth of issues on queerness coming from a Kdrama, and it was done beautifully. The issues were never taken lightly or laughed at, and the relationships were portrayed in such a realistic way that it truly felt like this could be someone's autobiography. It was unfortunately sadder than I had anticipated, and the realism just emphasized the tragedy, but it was beautiful nonetheless.

Citeste mai mult

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.

Citeste mai mult

The Most Beautiful 400 Minutes of My Life

As someone who is apart of the queer community I was very impressed with this BL, typically the BLs I watch don't go in this much depth or show the emotions of a queer person or portray the struggles they have in the society. The drama was filled with laughter, tension, and sad moments that make you feel deeply. Ko Yeong the main character shows the struggles of a queer person as you follow him on his journey on finding love. No Yeong Su shows how the environment where your raised impacts your societal beliefs, he was a character experiencing internalized homophobia because the people around him kept telling him that it was wrong and because of that he was never able to love Ko Yeong with all he had. BUT not to forget about Mi Ae she was casted beautifully even though she didnt appear as much in the later episodes, she brought laughter and it truly made me happy and I was able to relate to it as I have a very close friend of mine whos a girl and the dynamic between Mi Ae and Ko Yeong is exactly the one between me and my friend.


Truly Love in the big city is one of the few kdrama BL's that I felt truly displayed the struggles, the life, the identity, and the ups and down that a queer person experiences not just limited to a guy. The drama is filled with love, and laughter but also melancholic scenes that make you go for a loop. It truly portrays the life of a queer person accurately, and what happens in the brain of one. One of the best kdramas this year and the best BL ive watched this year, its worth the time. And SEASON 2 PLEASE!!

Citeste mai mult

Yeong's worst enemy....

This series had me until episode 6 and then it just was a dull hum until the end. It's was a beautiful realistic story. One of the greatest joys was watching Yeong move from being self indulgent over exhuberent college kid to a self aware realist, a published writer. This is also the greatest sadness. He drew on his experiences, his environment and poured it into his writing. Along the way he lost his sparkle.

Gyu Ho and Nam Gyu both suffered the same fate. Yeong's inability to accept love without expectations caused him to lose two people who truly love him. It seems all his relationships were doomed due to his desire to have the razzle dazzle fireworks to continue throughout, without being able to accept the mundane. Only after they were over, would he be able to see what he truly lost and regretted. Not knowing his true self and his inability to be alone encouraged two relationships that should never have been. Habibi and Yeong Su came with hidden baggage, one abusive and the other just sad. Yeong Su lived in shadows and manipulated Yeong's niaivete to live in his internalized homophobia. Habibi, with a hidden wife and child, embarks on a journey with him, hoping to capture a bit of Yeong's sparkle to relieve his boredom. Seeing him too drunk and overworked, Yeong chooses himself and walks away. Both relationships were poor choices to facing a life of solitude and expected failures.

His mother is shown to have moved from denial, abhorring, to knowing, to minimally discussing. She doesn't accept his life but still loves her son.

The real charmers, the electricity powering his life, were his close group of friends and roomate Mi Ae. Yet, even with them, some bits of his life were closed. His HIV status is only shown to be discussed with Gyu Ho, who loved him enough to truly accept him as he is. Gyu Ho, after the cowardly way Yeong breaks up with him, never contacts him again. Though, through the bartender at their favorite spot, he let's Yeong know, he is still loved. Not yet ready to make any contact, in the end, it is his friends that he is seen enjoying the fireworks.

The story was beautifully told, and with flashbacks in the last two episodes, we get a fuller history of the reality of his best relationship, Gyu Ho. The sad part for me is that he began to let his status have an effect on him and as he took stock of his life, became more subdued. The last two episode felt like a gradual slide down from the high.

Every character was skillfully brought to life. Yeong was a free spirited over the top whitty self accepting non judgemental dreamer who was scared to dream and Nam Yoon Su killed it. This is a must see at least once.

Note to directors and editors at large:
Flashbacks: This is how it's supposed to be done. Ever flashback should reveal something new and actually propel the story being told.

Citeste mai mult

Meravigliosa!

"Love in the Big City" è una serie che cattura l’essenza dell’amore in una metropoli frenetica e vibrante. La serie esplora le sfide, le gioie e i dolori delle relazioni in una città che sembra non dormire mai.
Ciò che colpisce di "Love in the Big City" è il modo in cui riesce a bilanciare momenti di profonda riflessione e sentimenti con situazioni divertenti e scene che fanno sorridere, offrendo allo spettatore un’esperienza emotiva completa. Il gruppo dei quattro amici è veramente fantastico.
Le interpretazioni degli attori sono assolutamente notevoli: ognuno porta una naturalezza e una sincerità che rendono i personaggi credibili, soprattutto quella di Nam Yoon Su è stata superba.
Nam Yoon Su riesce a portare sullo schermo una profondità emotiva rara, mescolando vulnerabilità e carisma in un modo che cattura immediatamente lo spettatore. La sua capacità di esprimere le sfumature dell’amore, della confusione e della crescita personale è impressionante, rendendo il suo personaggio incredibilmente realistico e facile da amare. In ogni scena, l’attore dimostra una presenza magnetica che mantiene alta l’attenzione, sia nei momenti più romantici che in quelli di introspezione.
Uno degli aspetti che rendono "Love in the Big City" davvero speciale è la sua capacità di rappresentare l’amore in tutte le sue sfumature: passione, tenerezza, incomprensioni, tristezza, mancanza...

PS
Questa serie è meraviglia! È stata una continua onda di emozioni.
Le mie altissime aspettative sono state superate. L'ho guardato tutto di un fiato.
Nan Yoon Su è stato superlativo nella sua interpretazione. Ho adorato il rapporto d'amicizia fra quei 4.
La relazione che ho amato di più è quella con Gyu Ho, quella di meno con quel bacchettone di un filosofo...grrrr

Citeste mai mult

it's a commentary on everything really

This drama is a heavyyyyyy on commentary. I'm gonna list what stuck with me the most:

1) on social circles and friendship
2) on the status quo and consciously avoiding it
3) on trauma bonds and their lifetimes
4) on DL men.
5) on living with an illness that defines your life, controls your life and sometimes makes decisions about your life for you
6) on manipulation and toxic relationships
7) on guilt, regret and mental health
8) on what it means to have a home
9) on what queer community looks like and how important it is for survival
10) on the plight of the troubled writer

Citeste mai mult

A GREAT SERIES!! MUST WATCH

The series dives deep into the nature and realism of love, tackling it in four distinct themes from the book:

1. Friendship (Platonic)
2. Family (Filial)
3. Romantic Love
4. Self

Unlike most BL stories I’ve come across, this one feels refreshingly authentic. There’s no idealized fantasy here; instead, it captures a raw take on love—especially for someone who’s still figuring out their identity.

It’s a great series (and a read) that explores a variety of issues, especially around romantic love and Go Young’s attachment struggles. Each of his three relationships reveals a new self-discovery, reflecting how much love mirrors our own self-understanding. In reality, romantic love often feels fleeting, needing patience, understanding, and a clear sense of self to know if it’ll truly last.

Go Young’s imperfection makes him relatable. His character is flawed, which somehow makes him even more compelling. Though each of his love interests is unique, he always ends up doing the same thing—falling headlong for someone he just met and letting his imagination run wild. In his first relationship, especially with Mr. Photographer, he over-invested despite not feeling much in return, causing Mr. Photographer to falsely hope and change himself for Go Young, which led to his own downfall.

"If obsession isn’t love, then I have never loved." This quote sums up Go Young perfectly. His intense infatuation with love itself drives him to act rashly, often in ways that harm both himself and others. His obsession with Mr. Fish went so far that he nearly ended his own life, showing how his view of love spiraled into something damaging.

As they say, "If you fall in love, fall for the person—not just the idea of being loved."

Then comes Gyu Ho. Compared to Mr. Fish, Gyu Ho’s relationship with Go Young feels plain and routine. Their lives revolve around daily work and chores; there’s none of the thrill or risk that marked Go Young’s time with Mr. Fish. They rarely go out or even make time for romantic moments. At first, Go Young feels they’re growing apart because of this lack of excitement, but after their breakup, he realizes Gyu Ho was his first true love—they actually matched in a way the others hadn’t. With Mr. Photographer, only Mr. Photographer was invested. With Mr. Fish, his commitment issues tore them apart.

In contrast, Go Young and Gyu Ho took the time to build something real. They embraced each other’s imperfections and learned to adjust together. They found that love itself isn’t flawless, and neither of them were either. But, despite their efforts, they kept breaking up repeatedly, and after a while, it’s hard to keep fixing something that’s been shattered too many times. One of the book’s most striking metaphors is a scene with a lantern: the lantern shines and rises but ultimately falls short and burns out—much like their love.

In the end, Go Young realizes that love is a journey, and we shouldn’t let romantic love define who we are. By the series’ end, all of his relationships have faded, but his friends, T-ARA and Mi Ae, remain. He sees that friendships can be forever, while romance sometimes can’t.

Ultimately, he learns that love is complex, that self-acceptance is vital, and that even if he doesn’t find a ‘forever’ partner, he has his friends—his true constants in life.

Citeste mai mult