Love in the Big City (2024)

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

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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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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

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Eternal love, and how it's portrayed through its characters

This drama is not perfect but I can't help but rate it a 10. I had high expectations coming into this drama, and it didn't disappoint; when watching this drama I could easily relate to our main protagonist and the reason he fell in love with all his past lovers, I could help myself from following in love with their characters too, I understood his motive and this drama well portrays a 3 dimensional character that has flaws but those flaws don't make him insufferable. Through our the series I wonder to myself how can his life get worse and as it got worse I just couldn't stop thinking how he pitiful. I love the dynamics that all the characters showed in the show especially our main and gyu ho, and how in the last episode we get to see what happened in Bangkok and how that a big impact on our main character. The ending to me was sad but I loved it because he finally realized the meaning of love and what love is to him but in the lead up to that most of the people he grew to love had to be an example of sacrifice and that was portrayed so well. I love the drama as a stand alone I really don't want a season two because I believe it would leave the message that is being given the justice it deserves, because the protagonist story is over and he has developed through all the romances and the show.
I love how they didn't only show the romantic love of this drama but also platonic love between friend and as well as family love, this was a hard watch but not in a bad way but in a way where each scene made you want to burst into tears just hoping our main character would finally get his happy ending. The bittersweet ending that was given was so heartbreaking but so really fo many queer people, especially living in Korea at the moment.
The sound track was absolutely beautiful, and I love how they made reference to K will in the drama. Overall I would want people to watch this and create their own opinions about the ending what it ment to the viewer. This was an amazing watch and I would love to see more great works like this come from korea especially ones that are made by queer people themselves, Because this is understanding. I hope they win an award for this because you can't deny this is a huge step in the right direction for the queer community of Korea and maybe even all around Asia. So if you are conflicted if you should watch this or not please do because you surely won't regret it!!!!

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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!

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