Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)
Actor Nam Yoon Su could probably be paired with a rusty electric pole and still make you believe he’s a lovesick Romeo, ready to die for the pole—his Juliet or, fittingly, his Romeo, since his character is gay in the 2024 Korean series Love in the Big City.
Directed by Hur Jin Ho, Hong Ji Young, Son Tae Gyum, and Kim Se In, Love in the Big City is based on Sang Young Park’s novel of the same name, which was longlisted for the 2022 International Booker Prize. Nam Yoon Su plays protagonist Go Young, introduced as a sassy college student in a hilariously entertaining pilot episode that begins with a breakup.
“I truly loved you in the week we shared together!” Young’s cheating content-creator boyfriend tells him, after Young realizes he was just “the other guy” in their short-lived romance. Ever the optimist, Go Young hits the club with his posse of close gay friends and soon meets his next boyfriend, Kim Nam Gyu, a sincere photographer played by Kwon Hyuk. Itaewon is introduced as the hub for gay-friendly clubs and a breeding ground for spicy queer stories. My favourite bit in the series was perhaps a scene where Go Young and his friends jump on the stage of a club to dance in sync to a girly pop song. Yas queens!
The eight episodes of Love in the Big City are split into four chapters. The first two focus on Go Young’s college life and his newfound friendship with Mi Ae (Lee Soo Kyung), a straight classmate who, like him, enjoys a good party, falls in love too easily, and has a complex relationship with her mother. “We learned a lot from each other. Through me, she learned that it sucks being a gay man. Through her, I learned that being a woman equally sucks,” Go Young quips. These episodes are comedic, setting Go Young up as an energetic, sassy, hopeless romantic who falls in and out of love at breakneck speed. Nam Yoon Su is unexpectedly diva-like in his playful scenes, embodying the role of a young gay man who, in Gen-Z slang, totally ‘slays.’ Kwon Hyuk’s (The New Employee) photographer Nam Gyu, who is completely out of touch with current pop trends and loves the word “splendid,” pairs endearingly with Young. Their chemistry is electric, besides, the way Nam Yoon Su’s Young smiles and looks into other characters’ eyes – it’s always like the fresh exciting pangs of first love.
The next two episodes dive into Go Young’s tumultuous affair with activist Noh Young So (Na Hyun-woo), whom he meets in a philosophy class. Go Young quickly falls for Young So, but the latter is deep in the closet, often leaving Go Young feeling invisible and miserable. Although Young So eventually reveals himself to be a certified jerk, the chemistry between the actors is palpable, possibly the best among all of Go Young’s romances. However, his longest-lasting relationship comes next—with Sim Gyu-ho (Jin Ho-eun), an adorable part-time bartender and nurse he meets in episode 5. Their initial meeting is cinematic: Go Young impulsively kisses Gyu-ho out of the blue at a club, sparking an instant connection. Jin Ho-eun’s Gyu-ho, with his endearing, labrador-like eagerness, adds charm to their dynamic, but their relationship’s stability brings out Go Young’s cynicism, as he finds himself increasingly frustrated with the monotony of dependable love.
The story-line then shifts to their romantic getaway in Bangkok (might remind Thai fans of ‘I Told Sunset About You’), hoping to reignite their spark. Although it works for a while, once back in Seoul, they quickly return to the same routines. It’s around the middle of the season that the series introduces a debatable plotline: Go Young discloses to Gyu-ho that he’s HIV positive, mentioning that he’s never told anyone else (news to the viewers as well). A flashback shows a doctor explaining that his chances of transmission are zero yet Go Young’s HIV status doesn’t impact his relationships significantly, leaving its inclusion feeling somewhat misplaced, as it could perpetuate misconceptions about HIV being a gay man’s disease without adequately addressing them. The biggest plot twist stemming from this revelation is Go Young’s inability to pursue a job abroad due to the medical checks required, a narrative choice that could have been achieved simply by him failing an interview.
While each episode runs nearly an hour, the eight episodes don’t quite cover every facet of Go Young’s life. His strained relationship with his homophobic mother deserved more space, and longer flashbacks to their teen years would have deepened the story of their broken bond. Unexpectedly, Love in the Big City simply glosses over a significant traumatic event in his teen life, something that’s simply conveyed through a blink-and-miss flashback. Actor Oh Hyun Kyung shines as Go Young’s mother, who is diagnosed with cancer, so it takes another life-threatening disease for them to finally reconnect. Thankfully, this healing arc avoids overt sentimentality (remember the disappointing cancer twist in Netflix’s ‘Love Next Door’?), and instead is even comedic in parts. For instance, Go Young often ditches his mother in the hospital for a hot date and in typical Go Young fashion, hours after his mother’s funeral, he hits a club with his friends and grabs his next hot man.
Go Young’s one-room Seoul apartment serves as a constant throughout his decade-long journey, first shared with Mi Ae and then retained as his place for almost a decade. The series starts as a light-hearted, sexy coming-of-age story about queer life in Seoul but gradually becomes more serious, exploring the unpredictable nature of adult relationships. It celebrates those who love hard, who face heartbreak after heartbreak, and who sometimes can’t see what’s best for them. For a show of this caliber, the background score was surprisingly unremarkable, and the few songs featured were equally forgettable—even the hilariously off-key song Go Young belts out at his friend’s wedding.
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Nam Yoon Su is captivating as the volatile lead of Love in the Big City, with his charm and killer dimples sure to win over viewers, flaws and all. In the final episodes, he meets Habibi (Kim Won Joong), a wealthy Japanese businessman. Their playful exchanges in broken English add a refreshing layer to Go Young’s love life as they flirt across language barriers. It’s interesting how a scene featuring them running up and down the stairs at a luxury hotel, sweating, panting, was just as sexy as the other steamy scenes in the series. Definitely appreciating the fact that the creators didn’t deliver fake fish kisses and had the protagonists snog like real world adults (okay, maybe a little more photo-friendly than usual).
The series’ conclusion sees Go Young reflecting on his journey, moving into a new phase, and embracing a life focused on writing, supported by his friends and ready for new loves. While Love in the Big City would have benefited from a couple more episodes, it’s a beautifully layered story and sets a new bar for future Korean creatives looking to represent queer love on television screens.
Rating: 8/10. Stream Love in the Big City on Viki and TVING.
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