Love in the Big City (Korean Series)

Love in the Big City is a Korean BL series about a gay writer and his dating experiences. Over the course of 8 episodes, each lasting about 50 minutes, our lead character, a single young man is looking for romance. He meets guys in bars, clubs, hobby groups, and hookup apps, each from a different walk of life. Some relationships end as short flings, while others develop into emotional journeys. Through the highs and lows of his love life, the protagonist discovers valuable lessons about himself. Every 2 episodes focus on one of his relationship, so we see 4 distinct guys/love stories that our man deals with.

We meet Go Young, a young carefree guy who loves clubbing with his friends. Over the course of time, he becomes close friends with a schoolmate, a girl named Mi Ae, who has a reputation for sleeping around with guys. Since the two get along so well, they find lot of common things, they decide to live together. Young moves out of home and becomes roommates with Mi Ae. Young meets a man, a shy photographer Nam Kyu, who was shooting for one of his modeling gigs and soon they are a couple. The photographer in his 30s exchanges rings and is also fully committed but Young is starting to feel restless. Nam Kyu seems shy and has more old-fashioned tastes, whereas Young is extroverted and enjoys the latest trends. Young's attention drifts, especially when he hits it off with another cute guy in the club. He breaks up with Nam Kyo which is quite messy and unamicable. He meets an activist guy with whom again he doesnt last very long. The best one is the one with a young boy from another city who is training to be a nurse. Their relationship continues to be on and off multiple times with their ups and downs but still they both are there for one another in fun and hard times. They both try their absolute best but Go Young keeps getting bitter and bitter, especially when he finds that he has now got HIV. The nurse eventually gets a job abroad and decides to prioritize career over lover. Finally he meets a Thai guy Habibi, who has a wife and kid back home, but both men are lacking in thier journey and these two oddballs find a strange connection with one another. The series ends with Go Young making a trip to Bangkok, which was supposed to be fun times with Habibi but all he can do is remember the nurse guy with whom he had the best vacation ever, and he comes to a realization that the nurse guy was the one guy he truly loved. Whether they reconcile after his return remains uncertain, but their history shows they've overcome difficulties before. Even if they don't get back together, Young has changed. He knows what he wants from love and feels more confident in navigating future relationships. This perspective ensures he can approach his next romance thoughtfully, whether it's with nurse boy or someone new.

This show has a great production value and feels like an A-list queer drama, something that you dont get to see often. This is not BL. This is full on gay story, extremely well told with great details spanning over a time of few years while we watch the growth of our main protagonist. Based on a book by the same name, the series shows us romance in ways it happens in real life and not something that one imagines in head. Youngsters today are not sure and that uncertainty in love or life or anything is clearly depicted in the show. Go Young dates around a lot. Instead of meeting the right partner, most experiences end in heartbreak. He is flawed and is only slowly learning about himself. The series conveys how hard it is for two people to be compatible. Relationships may not work out, no matter how much you want them to. All the romances that we see him go through, you feel the emotional roller coaster with him. This show needs patience and focus to fully grasp it. Many a times you will feel that something similar has happened in your life or with someone you know. You feel what it’s like to be loved, what it’s like to be judged by people who only understand one kind of love, and what it’s like to feel loss.

The show is not just about gay love. It also focuses initially on the beautiful friendship that Go Young share with the girl, how she eventually grows up and evolves. We see Go Young's bunch of supportive friends who are always there for him and finally his strained relationship with his mother. The lead actor playing Go Young gets an opportunity of his career and he comes out with flying colors. HIs smile is effortless and he captures the emotional nuances of the character very beautifully. Same can be said pretty much of all the characters. The makers have carefully selected cast, spend effort and money on the show to really touch a chord with its audience. The show is not without its flaws. The pacing is something that one can have an issue with and its episodic nature looking at various love interests is not everyone's cup of tea. But watch it so you can realize once again that love, pain, and existence are universal experiences. (8/10)