Writer Park Sang Young of “Love in the Big City” has taken time for a special interview with Viki and !
Based on the bestselling novel by Park Sang Young, “Love in the Big City” is a carefully crafted drama that blends comedy, classic romance, and romantic comedy. The series follows young writer Go Young (Nam Yoon Su) as he navigates the ups and downs of life and love, with the script adapted by Park Sang Young himself to capture the original’s charm.
Following the recent international success of the drama, writer Park Sang Young spoke to Viki and to share more insight into the drama and the response from viewers.
Read the full interview below!
The response from international viewers has been incredibly enthusiastic. What do you think is the selling point of “Love in the Big City”?
I believe it’s because the story is about genuine love that is closely tied to everyday life.
There are many dramas that depict queer love as fantasy. However, it’s rare to find a drama that portrays it as realistically and authentically as this one.
Fans from all over the world are reaching out to me directly through social media. (I receive dozens, even hundreds of messages a day! Unbelievable!) They tell me that watching this drama feels like they are experiencing a relationship themselves and that they’ve never seen a drama like this before. I think the reason “Love in the Big City” is so widely loved is because it offers so much room for relatability. Honestly, I was also very surprised and extremely happy to see so many people from overseas loving the show. I love you all.
If I were to choose another selling point, I think I can pinpoint the actors’ visuals and excellent acting skills as well as the unique characteristics that come from each chapter being directed by someone different.
What was the most important aspect you focused on when adapting “Love in the Big City” into a drama?
I aimed to retain the core sentiment of the original novel. The novel vividly depicts the lives of gay individuals in the 2010s and 2020s. The key when writing the novel was to avoid romanticizing or objectifying them as tragic figures. I wanted to continue this commitment to realistically portraying queer lives when writing the series.
The love experienced by the protagonist, Go Young, is inherently sad because it is predicated on eventual separation. Additionally, given the societal attitudes in Korea, where queers face discrimination, Go Young inevitably encounters various hardships. Despite this, I wrote the series hoping that Go Young would never lose his sense of humor. No matter how tragic the situation, I wanted him to be able to wear a mask of laughter.
Is there a special reason why each episode of the drama was directed differently?
From the initial contract proposal by the production company, the format was already set. This series was to be a commemorative project for the 40th anniversary of the Korean Academy of Film Arts, with four directors who are alumni of the academy each directing two episodes of different chapters. This was a delightful arrangement for me. My novel is also divided into four parts, each written with a slightly different tone. I thought it was a suitable structure for different directors to take on each chapter, showcasing their unique styles, so I gladly agreed to the contract.
Why did you decide to write the script yourself?
I thought, “If it fails, it should fail because of me.” (laughs) I had a strong belief that I was the writer who best understood the sentiment of this work and could capture its lively tone. Fortunately, the production company also wanted me to write the script myself. I debuted as a novelist in 2016, and in the same year, I won a drama script contest held by the Korea Creative Content Agency. I have been familiar with writing both novels and scripts for a long time, so I had no hesitation.
The film was released around the same time. What did you focus on differently in the script compared to the movie?
The film can be seen as a coming-of-age story that centers around a female character named Jae Hee and explores the friendship between a queer man and a heterosexual woman. The romance involving queer characters is relatively less prominent.
In contrast, our drama is a full-fledged “queer” and “romance” series. What makes the drama different is that it is a 100 percent raw portrayal of queerness. Therefore, I focused on depicting the deep romances between Go Young and the men he meets. Another significant difference is that I wanted to include a serious question about what true love is.
What do you hope “Love in the Big City” means to international viewers?
For me, I feel less lonely when watching a good drama, and even after it’s over, I feel like I’m living alongside the characters.
I hope that the character Go Young and all the characters in the drama remain with you as if they were yourself or your close friends.
Additionally, I dare to hope that “Love in the Big City” becomes “a drama of a lifetime” in the hearts of viewers around the world.
Watch “Love in the Big City” below:
