'Love in the Big City' lead actor says perceptions toward LGBTQ+ are changing

A new series based on an internationally recognized novel, exploring the romantic life of a young gay man in Seoul, is set to hit streaming service Tving next week.

“Love in the Big City” centers on Go Young, a novelist navigating the highs and lows of romance with various partners, from a club-goer to a member of a royal family, over the course his life.

The series is adapted from the bestselling novel by author Park Sang-young, which has sold over 100,000 copies since its 2019 release. The book gained international acclaim after being longlisted for the International Booker Prize in 2022. Recently, the story was also adapted into a film starring Kim Go-eun and Noh Sang-hyun. The film premiered on Oct. 2.

The 8-part series is divided into four subsections, each consisting of two episodes, with a different director helming each part. Four directors collaborated on the series.

Episodes 1-2 depict the clumsy yet endearing romance of twenty-year-old Go, while in episodes 3-4, the focus shifts to the relationship between Go and his mother, who is battling cancer, as they clash over Go’s sexual orientation.

Episodes 5-6 depict Go's journey to find true love and the process of establishing a serious relationship, while in the final episodes, 7-8, Go finds another romantic interest and matures as an individual.

Park, who wrote the script for the series, stated that the series will focus on vividly portraying the relationships between its various characters.

“In a novel, emotions can be conveyed solely through narration. However, in dramas, relationships take on greater importance. To reflect this, we enriched the episodes by adding more depth to the interactions between characters. We made a concerted effort to include additional love scenes and moments that emphasize the (characters') relationships,” said Park, during a press conference held in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, Wednesday.

Nam Yun-su, who portrays lead character Go, shared that the series explores a universal type of love that everyone experiences at some point in their lives.

"I didn’t feel like the series was about a special kind of love," Nam remarked. "Since I saw it as a drama depicting a typical kind of love, I found myself thinking, 'Maybe I should try loving like this' during filming." He added, "I've been receiving a lot of supportive messages. It feels like people's perspectives are changing, and that moved me deeply."

All episodes of “Love in the Big City” will be available to stream on Tving starting Monday.