  The Type IIn supernova (SN) 1978K in the nearby galaxy NGC 1313 has remained
bright in multiwavelengths for more than $\sim 25$ yr. The archival data of SN
1978K collected with ROSAT, ASCA, XMM-Newton, and Chandra from 1990 to 2006
show no significant variation of the soft X-ray emission but a hint of flux
decrease in hard X-rays. In this work, we perform a detailed analysis using
more than 15 yr of XMM-Newton observations. Both the 0.5-2 keV and 2-10 keV
light-curves decline as $t^{-1}$ from 2000 to 2015. The transition of light
curve profiles can be explained in a way that the reverse shock was radiative
at an early phase and then became adiabatic at late times. Such a scenario is
also supported by the spectral analysis results. We also found a decrease in
the absorption column density, which indicates the presence of a cool shell
during the radiative phase.
