Highly Anticipated Upcoming BL Drama “Love in the Big City” Faces Severe Protest From Anti LGBTQ+ Groups Resulting In Removal Of Its Trailer
The production company of the drama “Love in the Big City,” which features LGBTQ+ characters, initially deleted its trailer in response to protests from certain civic groups but has since decided to make it available again.
The drama, which follows the journey of a gay man and a straight woman living together while each seeks love, will air on the OTT platform TVING starting on the 21st of this month. It was produced as part of the “OTT Specialized Content Support” program, funded by the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism and the Korea Creative Content Agency.
The trailer, which was uploaded to YouTube and portal sites on the 7th, included scenes of the male lead talking with his same-sex partner and sharing a kiss. However, when homophobic individuals began calling the Ministry of Culture and TVING, accusing the drama of “glorifying and promoting homosexuality,” the production company made the trailers private on the 12th.
Park Sang-young, the author of the original novel and the screenwriter of the drama, expressed his frustration on social media. He wrote, “A certain group marked it as a target, leading to a barrage of complaints to the relevant departments, resulting in the official trailer being taken down. I was so enraged I couldn’t sleep all night. No matter how many times I experience it, I can never get used to the face of hate.” The original novel, released in 2019, has been translated and published in 15 countries, including the U.S., and was a finalist for the International Booker Prize in 2022 and the Dublin Literary Award in 2023. In Korea, it sold over 100,000 copies.
As the controversy grew, the production company stated, “We will re-release the trailer on the 16th,” explaining that the temporary removal was due to a need for re-evaluation by the Korea Media Rating Board (KMRB) after the drama received a restricted rating. However, the trailer had already been classified under OTT’s self-rating system, making re-evaluation unnecessary.
Pop culture critic Kim Heon-sik voiced concern, saying, “It is inappropriate to respond to pressure from those who have not even watched the full content by deleting the trailer. This decision could further fuel a culture of hate.”
Meanwhile, the film adaptation of the same original novel, Laws of Love in the City, has been successful at the box office, attracting over 520,000 viewers within 15 days of its release on the 1st of this month.
Source: (A)
