Still Shining

Again a weak FL and a stupidly caring man

The first few episodes are some nice storytelling of a by-chance first love, nice cinematography, and I love acting of ML actor.
it is a mismatch between a shallow, weak, dumb girl and a smart, dedicated, deep boy.

Then... they grow up and really cannot continue, she dumps him brutally bc it is convenient to her, but he is still stuck on her.

So, I dropped. I am tired of watching a grown man going after taking care of a woman-child.
FL is no match for the ML and he should NEVER try to come even close to her.

FL IS A WOMAN CHILD WHO IS NOW TWO TIMING
AND ML KISSES HER AS#.

How boring.

FAREWELL!

Again, FL who is immature, weak, lacks focus, and wants some boy toy when it is convenient for her
and ML who chases her, loves her and takes care of her bc he is ah so pure and dedicated.

The fact is, she is a sleazebag, and he is a moron, and the two should never be together. LET GO OF IT ALREADY

So many dramas like that lately - Surely Tomorrow, Our Universe, Practical Guide to Love, etc etc etc etc

DROPPED WITHOUT A SECOND THOUGHT

THIs DRAMA IS FOR VERY DUMB WOMEN TO FANTASIZE OF CAPTURING ATTENTION OF A HIGH QUALITY GUY FOREVER AND DOING WHATEVER THEY WANT AND HE WILL STILL ALWAYS BE THERE

HECK NO

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Nice but not mind-blowing

Still Shining is a peaceful and nice k-drama. I don’t really have a lot to say but I enjoyed it most of the time. The main couple was very cute and the drama balanced light romance with deep thoughts, serious incidents and mature conversations.

Could have been better: The last few episodes were a bit confusing, I would have wanted to know more about Bae Seong Chan’s relationship with Mo Eun A. I didn’t really like Im A Sol and would have preferred for her to have less screentime.

Isn’t it weird that the leads keep coming back to each other without ending things properly (at least that is what they seem to think)?

Also I would have wanted to know more about the gap in the storyline, between episode two and three, where it differed ten years. What happened to the characters and formed who they became? I found it a bit odd to dedicate that much time to the past, but those episodes were probably the best so I’m not complaining.

Best episode: Episode 1
Favorite character: Mo Eun A

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Actress always depressed, very annoying

I never write reviews but I think this time is necessary. I really liked the beginning, acting was solid, storyline as well. Looking back now I can fully confirm that the feeling I had about the female character being emotionally unstable was true. The actress doesn’t help, always with the sad and depressing face, nothing new to add to the series, always the same miserable look, like she has in all of the dramas I’ve seen her in. Giving it this score of 10 because he is an amazing actor and he saved part of the series, otherwise, because of her, it would’ve been a 2 out of 10 for me. About the story: because the female character is mentally unstable (ranging from depressing to miserable) she is dragging him with her. He, besides of the hardships he’s facing, he’s trying to get his life in order and have a bit positive attitude when he doesn’t even have a reason to be positive. After breaking him, she follows him like a stalker until he talks to her and lets his guard down again, only for her to break him all over again. This is what we call these narcissistic selfish people, that will drag everyone with them and profit from love they can’t even give themselves. If the actress was different, I think it could’ve been a nice story

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a química ta salvando o dorama

isso aqui ta acabando com a minha sanidade mental, eles ficam 2 eps felizes e 2 brigados, nunca se resolvem direito e são sempre brigas bobas. os dois primeiros eps foi tudo, tão fofo, mas era óbvio que iam estragar tudo ne, beleza o plot ser eles se encontarem dps de 10 anos, mas o drama p eles ficarem juntos e terminarem dps mds
pelo menos o jinyoung é gostoso e sabe atuar, alem da química entre eles dois serem incrivel, pq mds que desgraça de dorama e história

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Writers and their artistic egos

Some may say that this drama reflects the reality of many relationships. True. But people are already slapped daily with reality, with the harshness of life and relationships. Entertainment, and especially K-dramas, should supposedly offer an escape, an alternative reality to the harsh everyday life, something that makes us believe that tomorrow can be more colorful, happier. But writers always want to do something different, artistic, that makes us think and blah blah blah. Make the journey, the story as difficult as possible, but in the end give us a happy ending. Reality is already harsh enough.
Anyway, the premise is good and the acting as well, but the ending, well, more of the same. Writers who prioritize their artistic ego's, and not the satisfaction of the viewers.

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Truly Tiring!

The series doesn't have anything that stands out if I am being really honest. There is nothing in the whole of the 10 episodes that shows any proper direction to where it is heading to. I think what I can say is that the series just shows one thing really clearly: co-dependence. I see that there is affection between the main cast, but I wouldn't really that it fits into love, at best if you were to give the benefit of the doubt, would be one-sided thing. Both of them wanted to live the way that they felt was best for them and especially for Mo-Eun A, would forego being together for personal growth. The relationship at the end was only something that helped them not to lose what they felt and to just keep it alive just for the sake of it. 10 years is also enough time to really take into consideration what means to oneself for the future rather than being frozen to the extent that they were portrayed.

The second leads of the show actually do show more depth and connection to their own stories. I mean, they basically ended up doing what you expect when things in a relationship don't go your way; letting it go eventually. There was more to offer from them than the whole of anything that was shown otherwise. Moments like the name tags and the arrangements of internships and other opportunities showed how much that they cared for their respective admirers.

At the end, highly recommend not to watch this expecting that this is a usual slow burn thoughtful series. It has a lot of holes which it never supports to be patched up and hence, is a very lackluster show in general. Yeet!

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Hope is the light that still shines

I think this drama is getting a lot more hate than it needs to be cause of how it turned out, but like the title, it's really about that sliver of sun shining through the darkest of times. I think while we are young, we build these memories that we look back our whole life thinking about how happy we were, and how we changed and I think this drama encapsulates this feeling a lot, especially with the feeling of love. Sadly, life is often a series of miscommunication and obviously it's not as enjoyable knowing the full behind the scenes while the characters don't, that's sometimes what life is and I think that's one of the more enjoyable parts of this drama. The chemistry between Jinyoung and Minju was something that really shown through the drama, and I think Jinyoung's acting was super articulate, I could feel the despair and happiness radiating around him whenever he felt something, and as an emotional person, made me relate heavily to his circumstances and feelings. This is a drama purely based on the feeling on latching on to that last slip of hope, and sometimes you just got to see where that little shining piece of hope can lead you in life.

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"A touching story of pure love and innocence between two middle-class hustlers."

FACT:
♡♡If you’re into love stories, this one’s for you.

The story begins with a pure, ♡innocent friendship that slowly-slowly grows into something ♡deeper—love♡.
But distance steps in early, bringing its own challenges, and eventually leading to a breakup.

No cringe scenes, no weird characters—just clean ♡storytelling and a perfectly chosen cast.
It also features stunning visuals of ♡subways and bridges, which add depth and mood to the narrative.

Distance really messed things up for them.
Getting back wasn’t easy—it was even harder than ♡falling apart.

The background music may be ♡average, but it still hits where it matters ☠︎.

After ten years of distance, silence, and ♡missed chances, their love doesn’t shine easily—
it endures, and that’s what makes it real.♡♡

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I really loved the beginning of this drama, but as it went on it got worse and worse. The ML is FULL of problems, but the drama focus mostly on how sad he has become after the FL left him, like: he can get over having his parents dying, his brother barely walking, his grandparents getting ultra sick, but his ex girlfriend leaving him? that's too much, my guy won't be coming back to normal after that, like ??? wth this is not how life works! I hate the fact that the FL basically only thinks about herself and she wants for the future and still keeps coming around to go after him, to get in his way and that she became his biggest reason for everything. I didn't like the acting of the FL in general, but I also didn't get why the character was written like "I never got over you, ML, but I've been dating this other person and I'll keep maintaining this person in my life even tho I lied about this person's existence for you" what's this about ??? who's acting like that in real life? please come to your senses, make it make sense!!! They keep making it seem super r
imposible for them to be together when they haven't even really tried anything, she just kept on leaving and he kept on giving up on his on desires. It is like they're two sides of a very ENORMOUSLY sad coin and both of them are living in extreme contexts, never having balance or real life human conversation to make things work, what's that ????? I swear to God that if they had ended up together this drama could be considered a crime.

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Complex main characters, slow pace.

April 2026.
I had high hopes for this drama, as I love Jin-young's acting. I actually thought both leads gave good performances, as both characters were incredibly complex, and with reason.

This will definitely not be for everyone, and I imagine it splitting opinion quite widely, just like 'My Liberation Notes' did (which I didn't enjoy).
I thought this was well written; there were no real extremes in the story, and it felt quite true to life, in terms of the ordinariness of the every day.

The ML character has, what feels like, the weight of the world resting on him ~ he feels overwhelming responsibility for his family, seeing himself as the most able provider.
He is often withdrawn, doesn't say unnecessary things, and doesn't talk about how he feels, to anyone.
The FL character also feels similarly about family responsibility, but for very different reasons. She is somewhat more outgoing, but at the same time has no friends.
The two connect whilst nearing the end of High School, sharing a study space, and become close friends. They seem drawn together and provide one another with often unspoken comfort.

The pace may be crippling for some, and the story at times stagnant. I personally felt that fit. They were healing slowly and beginning to think of themselves more ~ Eun-A was definitely a shining light for Tae-so; and Tae-seo a rock and guiding light, for Eun-A

At this point I liked her character; quirky and quite focussed. However, some actions towards an adult female character earlier in the story, especially when coupled with later behaviour as an adult, made her seem an incredibly selfish character, to me, byvthe end of the drama She put herself first, and I got the distinct impression she was desperate for a way out of her young adult life, which she was successful in getting ~ again through someone else's guidance and involvement.

The two grow apart, as happens, with college/Uni and maturing. They reconnect later, and it's from this point I really grew to dislike Eun-A. I felt she used people, from beginning to end~ maybe it wasn't intentional, but the feelings of others were secondary to her, from where I was sitting, it was mostly about her own aspirations, and needs. Yet she allowed herself to be pushed around in work settings. Infuriating.

The ending, I thought, was fitting.
Made me want nothing but love for Tae-seo in his future, and for Eun-A to grow up and think of others, as well as herself.

If you don't mind an at times snail pace, with a contemplative focus, you might like this. I didn't dislke it at all, but watched alongside others, as it aired, which I think helped. Not one I could binge, nor would I revisit it.

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