What does “눈이 부시게” mean in Korean?

부시다 is a native Korean verb, and in this “dazzled by light” meaning it’s usually paired with one noun: 눈 (eyes). It means light so strong your eyes can’t take it — the wince at a low sun or fresh snow. Add the adverb ending -게 and you get 눈이 부시게, “dazzlingly,” which stretches from blinding brightness to breathtaking beauty and, here, a life still worth living.

In this sense you’ll usually see 부시다 with 눈 right in front of it — the pairing is so common that textbooks list the whole chunk 눈이 부시다 as one expression. Figuratively it does the work English splits across “dazzling,” “radiant,” and “brilliant”: 눈이 부시게 아름다워요 means “dazzlingly beautiful,” and 눈부신 발전 is “remarkable progress.” Here it’s the title of the drama 눈이 부시게 (The Light in Your Eyes) and the punchline of its closing narration — “오늘을 살아가세요. 눈이 부시게” (“Live today. Dazzlingly”). Actress Kim Hye-ja recites it through tears while accepting the Baeksang Grand Prize.