[Focus] Coordinates Marked but Trailer Missing? What’s Happening with 'Daedosiui Sarangbeop'

Protests Over 'Glorification of Homosexuality' in TVING Drama
Production Company Hides Trailer → Reverses Decision Amid Controversy
Original Author Park Sang-young Calls It "The Ugly Face of Hate"

Still from 'The Love Method of a Big City' [Photo by TVING]

The drama "Laws of Love in a Big City," which depicts the love of sexual minorities, deleted its trailer video following a barrage of protests from some civic groups, only to re-release it later. This incident occurred after so-called "coordinates" were targeted.

Author Park Sang-young's 2019 serialized novel "Laws of Love in a Big City" was a commercial success in South Korea, selling over 100,000 copies. It gained unusual popularity as a queer novel, which was a niche genre in Korean literature at the time, and became a bestseller. Subsequently, it was translated and published in 15 countries including the United States, and in 2022, it was nominated for the British Booker Prize, one of the world's top three literary awards. The following year, it was also nominated for the Dublin Literary Award in Ireland.

The film and video industry took notice of "Laws of Love in a Big City," and it was adapted into both a movie and a drama. Production companies Merry Christmas and Big Stone Studio created an eight-episode drama based on the novel, which will be released on the native online streaming service (OTT) TVING on the 21st. Author Park also took on the scriptwriting, marking his first challenge in drama screenwriting. This work was also selected as a "OTT Specialized Content Production Support Project" by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Creative Content Agency.

The drama "Laws of Love in a Big City" tells the story of a gay man living with a heterosexual woman as they each seek love. The trailer included scenes where the male protagonist kisses and talks with his same-sex lover. Some civic groups and anti-gay activists protested, claiming the film glorifies and promotes homosexuality, and made protest calls and official complaints to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and TVING. As a result, the production company made the trailer private on the 12th.

Pressure Based on Trailer Alone... Production Company Chooses Compliance

Author Park wrote on his social media, "Thanks to being targeted by a certain group and a flood of complaints to related departments, the official trailer was taken down entirely," adding, "It's nine days before the drama's release, and we can't do any promotion?it's an absurd situation." He continued, "I was so furious I couldn't sleep all night," and lamented, "No matter how many times I experience the ugly face of hatred, I never get used to it."

As the controversy grew, the production company changed its stance and announced it would "re-release the trailer on the 16th." They explained that the trailer was made private to undergo a re-evaluation by the Korea Media Rating Board (KMRB). The work had received a "Restricted to Adults" rating, so the trailer and posters needed re-examination, which required temporarily taking them down. However, the trailer had already completed OTT rating classification, and generally, trailers are not taken down for KMRB review.

OTT content rating classification differs from that of general films and dramas. Due to the implementation of a voluntary self-regulation system for OTT platforms in March, "Laws of Love in a Big City," which airs on the OTT platform TVING, is not subject to KMRB review. However, the production company voluntarily requested a rating classification from KMRB. The production side explained, "Since this is not an original drama produced by TVING but only aired on the platform, a separate rating application was made."

At a press conference for "Laws of Love in a Big City" held at CGV Yongsan in Ichon-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, the day before, author Park said, "When I posted my feelings, I was emotional, but since conservative groups are trying to widely publicize our work, I thought, 'Lucky Vicky' (a trendy phrase expressing a positive mindset)." He added, "Good works inevitably invite controversy. I think I wrote a problematic yet good work." He also expressed gratitude that the original work was adapted into both a movie and a drama, saying, "I wanted to preserve the original feel in the drama."

The drama "Laws of Love in a Big City" was completed with eight episodes, each directed by one of four directors (Heo Jin-ho, Hong Ji-young, Kim Se-in, Son Tae-gyeom), applying the Hollywood system of different directors per episode. Actor Nam Yoon-su portrayed the protagonist Go Young from his 20s to 30s, expressing the ups and downs of youth emotions. All eight episodes will be released simultaneously on TVING on the 21st.