Love in the Big City
A drama that cheerfully depicts love and separation among the free-spirited young generation.
The film earned $6.2M at the global box office.
Plot Structure
Story beats plotted across runtime
Narrative Arc
Emotional journey through the story's key moments
Story Circle
Blueprint 15-beat structure
Arcplot Score Breakdown
Weighted: Precision (70%) + Arc (15%) + Theme (15%)
Love in the Big City (2024) exhibits deliberately positioned dramatic framework, characteristic of Lee Eon-hee's storytelling approach. This structural analysis examines how the film's 15-point plot structure maps to proven narrative frameworks across 1 hour and 58 minutes. With an Arcplot score of 7.2, the film balances conventional beats with creative variation.
Structural Analysis
The Status Quo at 1 minutes (1% through the runtime) establishes Young, a gay man in Seoul, shares a cramped apartment with his party-girl roommate Jaehee. Their chaotic, hedonistic lifestyle of clubbing and one-night stands masks deeper loneliness and unfulfilled longing for genuine connection.. Notably, this early placement immediately immerses viewers in the story world.
The inciting incident occurs at 15 minutes when Young meets Gyu-ho, a handsome and seemingly perfect man at a gay club. Unlike his usual encounters, there's an immediate genuine spark—Gyu-ho sees through Young's sardonic exterior and wants to know the real him.. At 13% through the film, this Disruption is delayed, allowing extended setup of the story world. This beat shifts the emotional landscape, launching the protagonist into the central conflict.
The First Threshold at 30 minutes marks the transition into Act II, occurring at 25% of the runtime. This reveals the protagonist's commitment to Young chooses to pursue a real relationship with Gyu-ho, agreeing to an actual date rather than just a hookup. He makes the conscious decision to open himself to the possibility of love despite his fears of rejection and exposure., moving from reaction to action.
At 59 minutes, the Midpoint arrives at 50% of the runtime—precisely centered, creating perfect narrative symmetry. The analysis reveals that this crucial beat Gyu-ho reveals he is HIV positive. The false victory of their perfect romance shatters as Young must confront his own prejudices, fears, and the reality that love comes with risk and requires accepting someone's whole truth., fundamentally raising what's at risk. The emotional intensity shifts, dividing the narrative into clear before-and-after phases.
The Collapse moment at 89 minutes (75% through) represents the emotional nadir. Here, The relationship with Gyu-ho ends as Young cannot overcome his fears. Jaehee leaves after her marriage fails. Young's mother is hospitalized with serious illness. Young finds himself utterly alone—having pushed away everyone who loved him through his inability to be vulnerable., reveals the protagonist at their lowest point. This beat's placement in the final quarter sets up the climactic reversal.
The Second Threshold at 95 minutes initiates the final act resolution at 80% of the runtime. Young realizes that love requires accepting impermanence and risk. He chooses to stop running—visiting his mother in the hospital and finally being honest about who he is, understanding that authentic connection is worth the vulnerability., demonstrating the transformation achieved throughout the journey.
Emotional Journey
Love in the Big City's emotional architecture traces a deliberate progression across 15 carefully calibrated beats.
Narrative Framework
This structural analysis employs a 15-point narrative structure framework that maps key story moments. By mapping Love in the Big City against these established plot points, we can identify how Lee Eon-hee utilizes or subverts traditional narrative conventions. The plot point approach reveals not only adherence to structural principles but also creative choices that distinguish Love in the Big City within the comedy genre.
Lee Eon-hee's Structural Approach
Among the 2 Lee Eon-hee films analyzed on Arcplot, the average structural score is 7.2, reflecting strong command of classical structure. Love in the Big City represents one of the director's most structurally precise works. For comparative analysis, explore the complete Lee Eon-hee filmography.
Comparative Analysis
Additional comedy films include The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, The Bad Guys and Lake Placid. For more Lee Eon-hee analyses, see The Accidental Detective 2: In Action.
Plot Points by Act
Act I
SetupStatus Quo
Young, a gay man in Seoul, shares a cramped apartment with his party-girl roommate Jaehee. Their chaotic, hedonistic lifestyle of clubbing and one-night stands masks deeper loneliness and unfulfilled longing for genuine connection.
Theme
Jaehee tells Young that love in the city is just about finding someone to make the nights less lonely—questioning whether real love is even possible for people like them who live on the margins of conventional society.
Worldbuilding
Young's life as a freelance copywriter and closeted gay man in conservative Seoul unfolds. His complicated relationship with his devoutly Catholic mother, his friendship with Jaehee, and his pattern of anonymous hookups reveal his emotional armor and fear of vulnerability.
Disruption
Young meets Gyu-ho, a handsome and seemingly perfect man at a gay club. Unlike his usual encounters, there's an immediate genuine spark—Gyu-ho sees through Young's sardonic exterior and wants to know the real him.
Resistance
Young hesitates to let Gyu-ho in, using humor and deflection as shields. Jaehee encourages him while also dealing with her own revolving door of terrible boyfriends. Young debates whether he can risk genuine intimacy or if it's safer to remain emotionally detached.
Act II
ConfrontationFirst Threshold
Young chooses to pursue a real relationship with Gyu-ho, agreeing to an actual date rather than just a hookup. He makes the conscious decision to open himself to the possibility of love despite his fears of rejection and exposure.
Mirror World
The relationship with Gyu-ho deepens as they share intimate moments and genuine vulnerability. Gyu-ho represents the authentic love Young has never allowed himself—someone who accepts him fully including his flaws and fears.
Premise
Young experiences the joy of his first real relationship. Tender moments with Gyu-ho interweave with the comedic chaos of Jaehee's love life. Young begins to imagine a future he never thought possible while still navigating secrecy from his mother and the challenges of being gay in Korean society.
Midpoint
Gyu-ho reveals he is HIV positive. The false victory of their perfect romance shatters as Young must confront his own prejudices, fears, and the reality that love comes with risk and requires accepting someone's whole truth.
Opposition
Young struggles with Gyu-ho's disclosure. Their relationship becomes strained as Young's fear and internalized stigma clash with his genuine feelings. Simultaneously, Jaehee's marriage to her latest boyfriend begins to crumble, and Young's mother's health concerns mount. The weight of secrets and societal pressures intensifies.
Collapse
The relationship with Gyu-ho ends as Young cannot overcome his fears. Jaehee leaves after her marriage fails. Young's mother is hospitalized with serious illness. Young finds himself utterly alone—having pushed away everyone who loved him through his inability to be vulnerable.
Crisis
Young sits in the empty apartment, confronting his self-sabotaging patterns. He recalls his mother's conditional love, his fear of rejection, and how he has replicated the same emotional distance he resented in others. His cynicism protected him but cost him everything meaningful.
Act III
ResolutionSecond Threshold
Young realizes that love requires accepting impermanence and risk. He chooses to stop running—visiting his mother in the hospital and finally being honest about who he is, understanding that authentic connection is worth the vulnerability.
Synthesis
Young reconnects with those he pushed away. He has a tender, honest conversation with his mother that offers partial reconciliation. He reaches out to Gyu-ho and Jaehee. Though not all wounds heal completely, Young demonstrates he has learned to show up authentically and accept love with all its messiness.
Transformation
Young, no longer defined by sardonic detachment, sits in his apartment now filled with the warmth of genuine connections. Whether or not romantic love persists, he has transformed from someone who ran from intimacy to someone who embraces the beautiful risk of loving openly in the big city.