One of those realistic stories that doesn’t make sense in Kdramas
Really realistic. that’s probably why it stuck with me.It’s one of those stories that quietly gets you thinking… like, what if things had gone a bit differently? What if you’d made another choice said something else or just stayed a little longer?
It kind of brings back that one relationship the “almost” one and makes you wonder how it could have turned out.
Maybe it’s just me.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Most boring drama of the year!
Ok I just finished it! Also a 6/10 for me… tbh the beginning of the drama was really good and the middle was still solid. Like when she comes to Seoul and then runs into him and we see how she is trying to start a life for herself there etc. I really liked that. Because it really is not easy to start a new life somewhere new. It was all good until the ex started meddling with the old guesthouse etc… thats when it got annoying. I wish we could have seen her starting a new life in seoul together with Tae-Seo… I didn’t understand why all the going back and forth both emotionally and physically (from Seoul to small town) was neccessary…And then when she did end up deciding to open her guest house again, why did she again, end up moving back to Hawaii???? I dont get it! She risked her relationship with Tae-Seo to open that guesthouse just to leave again??? In the end, neither Tae-Seo nor the guesthouse were important to her…I didn’t get the point of this drama. The plot was like what exactly?
There were some cute and sad moments, and the cinematography was great as well as the OST.
But i found almost all the characters annoying and unrelatable… except for the second female lead A-Sol, she was cute!
Even Tae-Seo’s brother was lowkey annoying, how he guilt-tripped him whether he was in Seoul or not… idk! His behaviour really icked me out…
And then we don’t even have to talk about the second male lead!!!! Omg ||what a pedophile!!! He was literally crushing on her when she was still in high school!!! And then he even dated Eun-A’s roommate???? Who would probably be the same age as her!!!! Thats sooo disgusting!!!! For me someone who has more power at work shouldn’t date a trainee or a freshly employed person… that’s borderline power harassment…
I also didn’t like it how Eun-A was jealous of A-sol when she drove the brothers to the village and back and how she told Tae-Seo not to have dinner with her to pay her back. But she herself literally had wine with her ex-boyfriend at 3 am!!!! Like wtf gurl????
And at the end, when the grandma woke up, and she kept remembering the wrong memories, and she kept on running into Eun-A even when her recent memories came back like… WHAT WAS THE POINT OF THAT??? Can someone please explain??? Because I really did not understand why that was neccessary!!!! Why did we need all that grandma memories section???? How did it all connect together? I am sooo confused…whoever wrote this drama must have been drunk or sth…
All in all, the drama had a great, promising start. It seemed like a cute coming-of-age story with beautiful cinematography and a second-chance romance… but it ended up being the most boring drama of the year so far…
Was this review helpful to you?
Not good
The main actor is very good, the main actress is average, the story is mediocre to bad. People with depression should avoid watching it, it’s depressing. I feel sad because I expected more from the story.Also, the supporting female roles are much better than the main one. I would have liked to see more of the protagonist’s father in the series, he’s an excellent actor, and they didn’t use him as much as they should have.Was this review helpful to you?
Still Shining — More Pain Than Shine
Honestly… this might be one of the most depressing and emotionally exhausting dramas I’ve watched in a while. 😭I get it — the male lead has a lot on his plate, responsibilities, pressure, everything. But why make the female lead this confusing? The constant breakup → patch-up → breakup cycle had me questioning everything. Like guys… if you broke up once, maybe there’s a reason? 😅 Unless both people actually grow and accept each other fully (good and bad), what’s really changing?
At some point, it just started feeling frustrating instead of emotional. I kept thinking, “What exactly do you want from each other?”
This is definitely not your light, feel-good, shiny romance. The title says Still Shining, but emotionally… it’s more like Still Suffering. 😬 You’ll need a lot of patience to get through it — and trust me, mine was running out episode by episode.
That said, I’ve seen some people online appreciate its realistic take on complicated relationships and emotional baggage. So if you like messy, slow-burn, very human love stories, this might still work for you.
P.S. – This is one of those dramas where you don’t just watch… you survive it. 😅
P.P.S. – Male lead was really very sad in most of the drama 💔
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
A Complete Disaster for a Romance that was Beautiful Initially!!
A romance that drags on, but never actually reaches its destination!!“Still Shining” is incomprehensible in many respects. The show is a quite reunion between two people that keep getting separated and reunite, but never truly reconcile. It isn’t overtly dramatic, at times you wonder if the story is realistic. Is it possible for two individuals to remain in love after going through consistent heartbreak again & again? The tone is incorrigible and questionable, but it is a somber journey between two intellectuals. They have their own dreams and ambitions, which, unfortunately, become the main reason for their separation time & again. This show might not work for everyone, I was even left wondering, whether to continue this or not. In the end, I chose to commit because Park Jin Young embodies a character whose journey remains at the centerfold of this storyline.
Read the complete article here-
https://kcdramamusings.wordpress.com/2026/04/05/still-shining-series-review/
Was this review helpful to you?
Nuanced storyline, not everyone's cup of tea
Am I the only one here who came to praise this drama?! Maybe its because I never take the romance genre seriously but I loved this drama. And I knew Park Jinyoung is an amazing actor so no surprise there but Kim minju? This is the 1st drama I watched of her and maybe I was prejudiced cz most idol turned actors are never that good initially so I wasn't expecting much from her but damn did I love her acting! The rage I felt for her character 😭 I just loved to hate her! The senior cast in the drama were so good too! The acting (cast) and cinematography alone are 10/10 for me. Wish it had a better story as well so that it got more appreciation by the general audience but for sm1 like me who is not very serious about romance genre and acting is the most important part this was a great watch!Ik the story is not very compelling for a romance genre but I really loved the story telling, not only about the main couple but but small glimpses of the lives of other characters like ML's brother, his grandparents, FL's stepmom and the 2nd FL and 2nd ML. None of them are shown in depth and mostly were surrounding the main ML/FL but still could discern their individual struggles. I see that many are complaining about the main characters actions a lot and Ik most people watch kdramas as an escape from reality but I found both their characters to be very human. Especially the ML who has struggled so much from such an early age. I think the drama is definitely worth the watch.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Less "second-chance romance" and more about "closure"
I really liked the slow and quiet vibes of this drama, but it does it so much at the cost of stagnating the plot, and I think I ended up being really confused.The first few episodes were really great; I think the leads have great chemistry and were really cute in the high school scenes. They were both quiet characters but had distinct personalities, so it was nice to see two little introverts fall in love. I also just liked that none of their family situations were spelled out for us — we learned about them, slowly, through dialogue.
After the leads met again, I still really liked their chemistry. They both did yearning really well, and once again, the quiet vibes really let us just wallow in their lingering feelings.
As the episodes went on, I STILL really liked the quietness, but it became pretty obvious that the plot was missing movement, and the vagueness started working against the drama's favor — it became really confusing what events had happened in the past for the leads to get to this point, and when they were fighting or upset I wasn't really sure why.
I'd gone into this one thinking it was going to be a second-chance romance, and I kept thinking that once they promised that they would try to be more accommodating and not let distance and timing be an obstacle. But then, in the last two episodes, the leads barely have ANY screentime together, and it became pretty obvious the show was going, instead, for the lesson "sometimes people just can't be together even if they love each other, but it's important to end things warmly."
So, spoilers for those who haven't seen this yet: it's NOT a happy ending. I don't mind this, honestly, but I think the show took far too long to decide what it was trying to do.
Was this review helpful to you?
Still moronic… Avoid anything by this writer
When the story started declining around ep 4 I just googled the writers name and it all started coming back to me. Make a mental note to avoid anything made by this writer like the plague. I mean sure they might still have a section who will like it. But if u are person who gets rage baited by dumb characters and their dumb decisions in a snail paced show …. Avoid. No amount of good acting , looks n chemistry can save a show that has to make the FL dumb n selfish as a plot point to drive the story forward since it doesn’t have any other major conflicts. N y always the FL ???????? Korea always likes to idolise the make leads coz majority female audience I guess . Whatever .Was this review helpful to you?
Doing your best on your worst
Its suffused with the kind of realism most drama watchers loathe and in a way that's it's best attribute. Aggravating and slow, there's a kind of fondness i have built for these characters over the past few weeks and its bittersweet ending is made to be just that; bittersweet. I could go on about how beautiful it is from a technical standpoint too since it compliments every scene and mood for that scene. The golden autumnal sunlight in the first few episodes were magic. It makes up for the perfect storm for something I would consider incredible art. Certainly do watch this at your own doom. I came to it with an understanding of being someone who has once experienced such a thing. If just like me you also have suffered perils of low commitment high maintenance situationships/relationships then yay watch it. It at least gives you the guidance to not betray your memories. I was enamored in particular to subtle quiet love each person gave the other. There's so much tenderness amidst the hurt and I think that's what made this incredibly life like and incredibly approachable to me. The actors did a phenomenal job bringing such a thing to the screen and in such a real manner as well. I often feel bogged down by the artificiality and contrived nature of dramas as of late. So this was a breath of fresh air.Was this review helpful to you?
Was this review helpful to you?
Some people are not meant to be.. and that's totally okay
The first part of Still Shining pulls you into a beautiful first love and than crashes you heart with the harsh reality of real life.Both of the main leads did an amazing job portraying their charachers. The acting was truly phenomenal from both parts.
Both the ML and the FL had some questionable choices in this drama which made them feel real and made me really resonate with them. They both had their own struggles in life and they both made some mistakes.
But truly some people are just not meant to be together, no matter how much they love each other, their life just takes different paths and that's the sad reality of relationships.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Not a Drama for strong men
The main reason that I gave this TV series a 5 out of 10 is that the main male character is too passive and is just pathetic. How can a man respect a guy who still has feelings for a woman who dumped him so coldly and cruelly? Why has he not got a girl friend in 10 years? Does he have low testosterone? He seems like a guy who is lost and sad. The female lead is good, but she is just a bit pathetic too in that she has not married and is now 30 years old with a job that does not pay much. It would have been better if both leads had had bad relationships and had given up finding someone special and then found each other again. It is sad how many TV shows in Korea and in the West have weak male leads.Was this review helpful to you?
