JTBC | Fridays 8:50pm KST | Premieres March 6, 2026 | 10 Episodes × 60 min
A subway driver who lives for “just today” reunites with his first love from when he was nineteen. She’s a former hotelier turned lodging manager who’s been setting goals, chasing dreams, and hitting walls. They shared a world once. They lost it. And now they’re finding it again.
If that premise doesn’t make you feel something, I don’t know what to tell you.
The Premise
Yeon Tae Seo is a subway train driver. He’s independent, grounded, lives faithfully in the present. His motto is basically “get through today safely” — no big dreams, no grand plans, just the day in front of him. He’s achieved the self-reliance he’s always wanted and he’s settled into his life. Then Mo Eun A walks back into it and everything he thought he’d moved on from comes flooding back.
Mo Eun A is his first love. They met when they were nineteen, shared something real, and then life pulled them apart. She’s a former hotelier who’s now managing a lodging house in Seoul — full of passion, depth, and charm, but she’s been through it. Small triumphs and major setbacks. She’s been setting goals for herself — where, with whom, what, and how — and then she reunites with Tae Seo and everything gets complicated again.
The trailer opens on a Han River bridge with Eun A’s voice saying “It’s been a long time,” and Tae Seo’s eyes immediately betray everything he’s feeling. There are flashbacks to their bright school days — innocent, hopeful, full of that first love energy — before they part ways. Then ten years later they meet again as adults. She hesitates and asks, “Is it okay if I come to you like this?” and he says, “It’ll work out, in ways you wouldn’t expect.”
That push and pull of reconnecting with someone from your past? The wanting to but being scared to? That’s the heart of this drama.
The Cast
Park Jin Young (박진영) as Yeon Tae Seo
Known for: The Devil Judge, He Is Psychometric, When My Love Blooms, Our Unwritten Seoul, The Witch
I’m not a K-pop fan so I didn’t really know much about Park Jin Young previously. I knew he was from GOT7 because of Jackson Wang, but that was about it. Then I watched The Devil Judge and that’s when my respect for him as an actor grew. Because let’s be honest — moving from music to acting doesn’t always transition well. But Park Jin Young carried it off. He comes across as very introverted naturally, and he was able to channel that into his performance in a way that felt genuine rather than stiff.
That being said, his track record since then has been mixed for ME personally. Last year he was in The Witch, which I gave up on — it was too slow and felt like nothing was happening. But he was also in Our Unwritten Seoul, which was one of my FAVOURITE dramas from last year. Now, that was a slow burn too and not a lot happened on paper, but it had a completely different feeling to The Witch. Something about it just worked. There was an atmosphere, a warmth, a quiet emotion that The Witch couldn’t carry.
So Park Jin Young CAN do understated, emotional, quiet romance really well — Our Unwritten Seoul proved that. And Still Shining sounds like it lives in that same space. He said at the press conference that he thought Tae Seo was “an ordinary guy” and that the director and writer wanted him to feel like the same person in his twenties and thirties — someone who faces hardship differently over the years but never loses himself. That’s a nuanced brief and I think he’s the right person for it.
Kim Min Ju (김민주) as Mo Eun A
Known for: The Forbidden Marriage, Undercover High School. Formerly a member of IZ*ONE.
This is Kim Min Ju’s FIRST leading drama role, which is a big deal. She was previously a member of the K-pop group IZ*ONE, and since the group disbanded she’s been focusing on building an acting career. So far her roles have been supporting and guest appearances — The Forbidden Marriage and Undercover High School being the most notable — but this is her stepping up to lead.
At the press conference she talked about the challenge of playing the same character from her teens into her thirties. She’s still in her twenties in real life, so portraying an older version of herself required her to think deeply about how her character’s attitudes and values would shift over time. That’s a thoughtful approach for someone relatively early in their acting career.
She’s also got another lead role coming up in Beauty in the Beast on Netflix, so this is clearly the year she’s making her move from supporting player to leading lady.
Shin Jae Ha (신재하) as Bae Seong Chan
Known for: Taxi Driver Season 2, Crash Course in Romance, Prison Playbook, The Hymn of Death
The third lead. Shin Jae Ha has been building a solid career in supporting roles across some really well-regarded dramas. Crash Course in Romance was massive, Prison Playbook is a fan favourite, and Taxi Driver Season 2 gave him a meaty role. He’s one of those actors who’s been steadily proving himself and this feels like a step up for him too.
Park Se Hyun (박세현) as Im A Sol
The fourth lead. Rounding out the main cast. Details on her character are limited so far but the drama is structured around four young people who become each other’s confidants, so she’ll be integral to the story.
The Creative Team — This Is the Big Selling Point
The director is Kim Yoon Jin and if you know K-dramas, you know why this matters. She directed Our Beloved Summer — the 2021 drama with Choi Woo Shik and Kim Da Mi that became a massive international hit on Netflix. That drama did the EXACT same thing Still Shining is promising: two people who were together in their youth, separated, and then reunited years later. Our Beloved Summer was all about nostalgia, longing, and the complicated emotions of seeing someone you once loved after years apart. It had beautiful cinematography, a slow-burn pace, and that bittersweet tone that makes you ache.
He described Still Shining as “a story everyone can relate to” and said “the cinematography is so beautiful that just watching it will feel healing.” If he brings the same visual warmth and emotional depth that made Our Beloved Summer so beloved, this could be something really special.
The screenwriter is Lee Sook Yun, who wrote the film Tune in for Love (2019) — a nostalgic romance set across different time periods in South Korea. So between the director’s track record with reunion romances and the writer’s experience with love stories told across time, the creative DNA of this drama is very specific and very promising.
The Casting Journey — How Park Jin Young Got Here
Fun bit of behind-the-scenes context: the lead role of Yeon Tae Seo was originally offered to Chae Jong Hyeop, who declined. Then it went to Rowoon (former SF9), who was also reported to have been offered the role. Eventually it landed with Park Jin Young, who was confirmed in January 2026 alongside Kim Min Ju.
Honestly? I think it worked out. Park Jin Young has that quiet, grounded energy. He doesn’t overdo it. He can sit in silence and make you feel things, which is exactly what Our Unwritten Seoul proved. Chae Jong Hyeop is brilliant but he’s got a different energy — lighter, more playful. This role needed someone who could carry weight without being heavy, and that’s Park Jin Young’s sweet spot.
What I’m Looking Forward To
The director. Our Beloved Summer is known for being visually stunning, and if Kim Yoon Jin brings that same eye to Still Shining, it’s going to be gorgeous.
Park Jin Young in his element. After Our Unwritten Seoul, I trust him in this kind of quiet, emotional role. If the writing is good, he’ll deliver. He’s at his best when he doesn’t have to shout — when the emotion is in his eyes and his stillness.
The first love reunion premise. Look, we all have someone from our past who still makes us feel something when their name comes up. That’s universal. A drama that explores what happens when you actually SEE that person again after a decade? That tension between who you were and who you are now? Sign me up.
Only 10 episodes. Tight storytelling. No unnecessary filler. Just tell me the love story and make me cry. That’s all I ask.
Two episodes every Friday. Back-to-back episodes means we’re getting a proper chunk of story each week. I like that pace.
Quick Stats
Title Still Shining (샤이닝) Also Known As Shining, Syaining Network JTBC (Fridays 8:50pm KST) Streaming Netflix (worldwide) Episodes 10 × 60 min (2 episodes per Friday) Airing March 6 – April 3, 2026 Genre Romance, Youth, Melodrama Director Kim Yoon Jin (Our Beloved Summer) Screenwriter Lee Sook Yun (Tune in for Love) MDL Watchers 7,600+ (pre-premiere) Where to Watch Netflix worldwide, JTBC (Korea)
Cast
Actor Character Park Jin Young (GOT7) Yeon Tae Seo — subway driver, lives for today, about to be disrupted by yesterday Kim Min Ju (former IZ*ONE) Mo Eun A — former hotelier, first love, walking back into his life Shin Jae Ha Bae Seong Chan — third lead Park Se Hyun Im A Sol — fourth lead Kim Tae Hoon Mo Seon Gyu — Eun A’s father
“Is it okay if I come to you like this?”
“It’ll work out, in ways you wouldn’t expect.”
March 6th. JTBC. Netflix. Two episodes every Friday. See you there.
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