“Love in the Big City” (대도시의 사랑법)

By Jae-Ha Kim
Substack
December 1, 2024

☆☆☆☆
Go Young (played by Nam Yoon-su)
Sim Gu-ho (played by Jin Ho-eun)
Choi Mi-ae (played by Lee Soo-kyung)
Kim Nam-kyu (played by Kwon Hyuk)
↑Note: Korean names denote the surname followed by the given name.

Before I get into the controversy surrounding “Love in the Big City,” here’s an excerpt from my Teen Vogue review:

Based on Sang Young Park’s bestselling novel of the same name, the K-drama adaptation was overshadowed by the film version, which stars Kim Go-eun (Little Women) and Steve Sanghyun Noh (Pachinko). But this series is so relevant as it matter-of-factly addresses homosexuality — a topic not often depicted in South Korean media in any meaningful way.

Four directors tackle each arc in our protagonist’s life. Go Young’s sexuality makes him neither a hero nor villain, but rather a young man trying to live a joyous life that matters. Lead actor Nam Yoon-su offers depth and heartaching vulnerability, making viewers root for his happiness. The tragedy in this series isn’t that Young is gay.

It’s the narrow-minded, often well-meaning people who view his sexuality as something that’s fixable, when there’s nothing that needs to be fixed. Love in the Big City is a unique K-drama experience with an ending that feels right, even as it breaks your heart. 

Controversy: Shortly after TVING released the official trailer to promote this series,  conservative, homophobic South Korean organizations demanded that the streaming service take it down. TVING acquiesced, but later posted the trailer again.

Airdates: Eight episodes (ranging from 47- to 53-minutes each) released on TVING on October 21, 2024. (I watching this on Viki.)

Spoiler Alert: The first relationship we are introduced to is between Young and Nam-kyu (Kwon Hyuk) — a photographer who quickly fell in love with the college student. While Nam-kyu dreams of a future together, Young feels restricted by anything more than a physical relationship. Nam-kyu would later die in a car crash. But it isn’t a stretch to say that he died of a broken heart long before that tragedy.

We see scenes of Young’s childhood, where it’s clear he is gay. After his mother catches him making out with another boy teenage boy, she has him shipped off to get conversion therapy to not be gay. Years later, he is an author who references his relationships in his books.

When his mother is dying of cancer, he finds her scrapbook. There are newspaper clippings of book reviews and interviews with him. But on the last page, she included a photo he had taken with Nam-kyu. It was her way of showing that she had finally accepted who he is.

The series also looks at Young’s affair with Yeong-su (Na Hyun-woo), a closeted philosophy student who is too scared to be open about his homosexuality.

But the pivotal relationship is with sweet Gu-ho.

In Episode 5, we learn that shortly before he started his mandatory military duty, which is required of almost all able-bodied South Korean men, Young slept with his ex-boyfriend, who gave him HIV. When Gu-ho tells him he’d like them to date, Young reveals that he’s HIV positive, but Go-ho isn’t scared off. As their relationship becomes more complicated, Gu-ho is given an opportunity to work for a couple years in China. Though he’d like Young to go with him, Young isn’t ready for that kind of commitment, even though it’s clear to the rest of us that Gu-ho is the love of his life.

Riding the train back home after dropping Gu-ho off at the airport, he says to himself, “I probably won’t exist in the future you dream of.” Which is poetic, but also profoundly sad.

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