You probably have seen clips of it on Twitter at this point, because locals have found screen recordings of its scenes online, but in case you didn’t know, a landmark queer K-Drama / K-BL series has just premiered, and it’s been receiving rave reviews for its portrayal of gay relationships in conservative South Korea.

So while it’s not yet available to stream in Southeast Asia, here’s a rundown of things you should know about Love in the Big City.

It’s based on a novel

The series is based on a book of the same title by Sang Young Park. Its English translation was published in 2021 and was shortlisted for the International Booker Prize in 2022. In the book, a gay man living with HIV narrates his life in a non-linear manner, telling stories about his friendship with a straight girl whom he shared an apartment with for a while, his Christian mother who has cancer, and the men he has dated. The book is divided into four different sections, each one focusing on a different part of his life.

There’s another adaptation

“Wait, I thought this article was about the new movie starring Kim Go-eun (Goblin, Little Women)?”

I understand the confusion. Because aside from a TV adaptation, the book is also getting a movie adaptation that focuses more on the narrator’s friendship with his friend / roommate, Jaehee. Get it? In a nutshell, the series covers the whole book, while the movie covers the part where the gay guy lived with his straight girl-friend.

The backlash after the trailer

We’ve seen countless K-Dramas, and let’s be real here, they’re not really known for queer representation, are they? Not even (openly) gay best friends! The truth is South Korea remains pretty behind in terms of LGBTQIA+ rights.

The movie version – you know, the one that focused on the gay-straight friendship – was received pretty well, but protestors demanded for the production and airing of the series – the one that focuses on queer love – to halt. These protests led the LITBC team to pull out their promo trailers from the internet, but thankfully, they didn’t succeed in stopping the show from airing.

“But there have been many BLs from Korea! Why are they acting up now all of a sudden?” Honestly, I think that aside from the book being a bestseller, and the movie having already come out, a huge part of it is because of Nam Yoon-su.

The lead star

Nam Yoon-su may not be the biggest K-Drama leading man (yet), but he’s worked in the mainstream. He was in JTBC’s Beyond Evil, Netflix’s Extracurricular, and KBS’s The King’s Affection, and he’s a Baeksang Arts Awards Nominee!

An actor from the mainstream taking on a queer role – one that’s openly sexual at that – is not exactly commonplace in South Korean showbiz. Thankfully, Nam Yoon-su has handled the heat that the production’s been getting with immense grace and lightheartedness. In a press con before the show’s premiere, the actor addressed the backlash of the trailer, saying, “I didn’t care about them. I just laughed it off when I got malicious comments. Those people were actually 1 in a 100. I got a lot of messages of support.”

His boyfriends

Nam Yoonsu revealed in an interview with Allure Magazine that he kissed a total of 15 men in the series, but it’s four of them that count the most. Playing his boyfriends are actors Kwon Hyuk, Na Hyun Woo, Kim Wonjoong, and Jin Ho Eun.

Themes

A large part of what makes LITBC essential viewing for many could pose potential triggers for some. The source material also goes to some places that are still taboo in Korean culture and society. Issues like homophobia, gay conversion therapy, self-harm, and living with HIV are important in the lead character’s story. And yes, these could mean uncomfortable conversations for some, but they sure are conversations all of us are worth having.

Korean BL on the rise

As a fan of BL, I’m glad this series exists now. I’m glad it’s disruptive enough to trigger conservatives and I’m glad it’s still here despite the backlash because this is what queer art – and queerness, period – should do: disrupt the status quo and insist on taking up space no matter the hate. However, I would also hate it if people skipped or looked down on all the many BLs, whether from Korea or not, that have been laying down the groundwork for queer representation in the media.

That said, I hope that aside from Love in the Big City, we seek other BLs and find value in what they bring to the table. (Currently, Thailand’s Jack & Joker is great, and Korea’s Let Free the Curse of Taekwondo is just sublime!) The queer experience isn’t a monolith, after all.

How to watch it?

Love in the Big City is on ViKi. It’s still geoblocked in Southeast Asia but, from what I’ve seen, I’m sure it’s worth the wait.

Will you be watching Love in the Big City?