Still Shining

Yeon Tae-seo and Mo Eun-ah meet and fall in love the summer before their senior year, but subsequent university commitments and shifting priorities in their lives force them to break up. Ten years later, the two meet again in Seoul, and old feelings resurface.

On September 23, 2024, Sports Chosun reported that Chae Jong-hyeop had been offered the male lead role,^[13] while Kim Min-ju was linked to the project the following November.^[14] Rowoon entered casting discussions in January 2025 when Chae declined,^[15] but ultimately Park Jin-young was cast to play Yeon Tae-seo in April.^[3]

Kim decided to star in the series because she often thought the script felt like a novel and had been wanting to try a youth melodrama.^[16] Park found the realistic story appealing because it didn't portray just a pretty youth, but struggles with problems that everyone could relate to; he was also captivated by Yeon Tae-seo, who he described as a warm character "who lives his life his own way, rather than being swayed by others' stares."^[17]

The first episode recorded a 2.1% audience share, which declined as the show continued to air, reaching 0.8% by the eighth episode, the lowest rating ever achieved by a Friday night series on JTBC.^[19]

Still Shining : South Korea viewers per episode (thousands)

More information Season, Episode number ...

Season		Episode number
		1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
	1	446	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

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Source: Audience measurement performed nationwide by Nielsen Korea.^[20]

Still Shining received mixed reviews. Jo I-eum of Ize complimented the series, highlighting its direction "that delicately captures the temperature of the seasons in every scene," the script that meticulously builds the textures of relationships, and Park Jin-young's emotional performance, stating that the combination of these three elements was not flashy, but bound to linger.^[22] For Lee Sook-myung of Vogue Korea, the series poses questions that make viewers reflect on relationships,^[23] while Oh Soo-kyung of Cine21 felt that it dealt with the light and darkness of life and love, filling the empty spaces of the narrative with emotions.^[24] On the other hand, Choi Soo-bin of The Fact deemed the plot frustrating and repetitive in its use of classic melodrama devices, which prevented viewers from engaging with the series' strength, alas its discreet depiction of the characters' inner lives and relationships.^[19]

Viewers filed complaints with the Korea Communications Standards Commission about two scenes in episodes 7 and 8 showing characters driving after drinking alcohol.^[19]