Castaway Diva (2023)

I wished for a good drama, and this delivered in an unexpected way

Just finished watching it and will definitely rewatch it again. Yes, it was THAT satisfying. By the end, even though there were still unlikeable characters, they were at the very least understandable. I also felt that the songs used to propel the drama forward were appropriate for the scenes where they were used. My favorites were Someday, Dream us, and Night and day.

This drama was not perfect by any means. There were some things that were irrational if you examine them closely but then again if you do, then it will lose the emotional edge. Since the drama gave a balanced reality and fantasy I felt it deserved a perfect rating.

To be honest, I only watched this after about half of the series had already aired because I thought a story of an "old" singer would be boring. But since I really liked Park Eunbin in her earlier works, I gave this a go and ended up chasing the drama.

This is about Seo Mokha. Accompanied by her friend, Kiho, she set out to audition for Roo Ranjoo, her favorite singer. Unfortunately, she got separated from him and was stranded on a deserted island for 15 years before she was finally rescued. Can she meet Kiho again? Can she still go after her dream when so much time has passed?

The kids that played Mokha and Kiho nailed their roles. They seemed vulnerable yet resolute. I look forward to their future projects. The side characters and their stories were also a nice touch. I also liked the 'who is Kiho' mystery though it was pretty obvious. The Kiho reveal and their reunion was one of the show's highlights for me. The girl bonding between Mokha and Ranjoo was also good. I think there were 2 castaway divas in this story, one was Mokha who was physically stranded and the other was Ranjoo who was emotionally cast away. Both became overcomers.

Just a touch of caution, this tackled domestic abuse. Also, there may be times that you can see Extraordinary Woo Young Woo since Eunbin is playing a society awkward person. If those are non-issues for you then I definitely recommend watching this drama.

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SO MUCH MORE THAN WHAT I EXPECTED ♡

Wow, I cannot believe this has ultimately reached its end, six weeks went by in the blink of an eye. Castaway Diva is so much more than anything anyone expected. Emotional and heartbreaking from the very first episode, it set the tone right and never disappointed once ever since. Even when one thought the main or side story could get messed up or disappoint viewers, it managed to prove us wrong.

The characters were beautiful and raw. Mok Ha and Ki Ho left such an impression from when they were school kids on Chunsam Island that it was impossible not to feel for their story and cheer for them to have a happy ending. They both went through so much even as they grew up and as adults, so I was the happiest when they finally managed to let go of their worries and finally be happy together with the people they love the most. Woo Hak/Chae Ho was always such a scene-stealer, his goofy and straightforward personality lit up the scenes in more ways than one. The Kang (or should I say Lee) brothers' love and support for each other and the way they had different ways to express themselves was one of the highlights of the drama. They are so different in personality but that's how siblings are, it was so relatable. They were so funny and adorable and I am going to miss seeing them onscreen together. The supporting cast was brilliant, every character was built on different human emotions, you could understand their motives, fears and moves and that is what made these characters human and relatable. Ki Ho's father is the only character that I despised the most but hats off to the actor, as these feelings only come out when an actor manages to portray them well, Lee Seung Joon is always such a versatile actor. On this note, a big part of this drama was its actors, and Park Eun Bin once again proved why she is the amazing star that she is: I have watched almost all of her dramas and she is such a talented actress, she portrays her roles with such diligence and perfection and this time she even sang so many songs for the OST and this step further made her shine in the role of Seo Mok Ha, as it is her voice and the facial expressions that made it such a delight to watch. I don't miss any of Chae Jong Hyeop's dramas as well and once again he charmed us with his eyes and amazing smile, the best Ki Ho we could have ever gotten. His facial expressions and acting are so captivating and I am so excited to see his future lead roles, he is a fantastic actor. It was my first time watching Cha Hak Yeon and Kim Hyo Jin and now I want to check out more of their works, I loved them so much: they were rash and almost selfish in so many instances but I can't fault them as these actions made their characters unique and real, and as actors, they were brilliant in portraying them.

A special shoutout to the child actors, Lee Re and Moon Woo Jin, they have such a bright future ahead of them, and the level of detail and passion they have at such a young age is commendable. The way they made us cry and love them in that first episode, wow I don't think a first episode ever left this much impact on me. It was like a whole movie, rather than an episode :)

The OST is such a hit, not one song is a skip, especially Park Eun Bin's songs, she surprised me so much, and her voice is so beautiful that I need her to sing OSTs in every drama she does from now onwards.

I have only praise for this drama, and I am happy about it. I enjoyed the last six weeks, waited for the weekend, and rushed everything so I would be sat when the episodes dropped on Netflix. Thanks to the excitement, the whole week would pass in a blur and I just genuinely enjoyed all the beautiful emotions this drama took out of me. I cried, I laughed, I was furious but the next moment I was giggling and covering my mouth at cute and fluffy scenes. This drama is a full package of emotions, so please be ready to feel them all along with the characters and I promise you won't be bored.

Thank you Castaway Diva, I was really happy the last six weeks. Thank you to the amazing cast, directors, screenwriters and all the staff for bringing this absolute gem to our screens. This is a 10/10 for me without even thinking, they deserve it in every aspect ♡

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it has such an interesting concept for the plot, but... :(

Mokha and Kiho are schoolmates who ended up supporting each other due to their dysfunctional family situations. Mokha dreams of becoming a singer since childhood, but failed to be one due to her abusive father, and she ends up surviving alone in a deserted island. When she's finally rescued, she has to adapt to this modern society that she has left for over 15 years, while keep pursuing her dream.

This first episode got me connected to Mokha and Kiho, it was sad but I love it, including Mokha being alone on a deserted island. My appreciation goes for the young actors, they were so good. Lee Re really looks like young Park Eun Bin and did very well. Moon Woo Jin is such a scene stealer in anywhere I've seen him in. I love his gaze and serious and empathetic looks. I wish there's more to their story, with the time jump and there's almost no island story, we moved on so fast that my emotional investment drops a lot. I find it hard to believe that she is so childlike, like a country-bumpkin in Seoul, and the show is trying to make me feel that way but it didn't feel genuine enough. I get that she doesn't have anyone to develop her social mannerism on the island, but her past-self is even more mature than her adult-self. What I enjoyed in the present time is when Mokha gets to actually connect with her idol and her plot with her idol. I like the Kang brotherhood moments as well, but even with those pros... the cons outweighed the pros; Her career journey should had been more highlighted, but that got sidetracked by a uninteresting love triangle. Another thing, I can give a pass to Mokha's acting but not to her reactions to the plot point reveal, that's just annoying because it seems so out of her character. It might be that the show is written as it airs? I'm not sure. it has such an interesting concept, but this show is just meh.

-Oct 2023, Yovita
Find me on Instagram: @kdramajudge

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A bemusing set of contrasts, Castaway Diva will stun you with its premiere episodes outlining a beautifully tragic backstory of crushed adolescent dreams and then launching into a headscratching modern day tale of.... I don't even know.
What was Castaway Diva ultimately about?
Seo Mok Ha (an always class act, Park Eun Bin), is an aspiring singer who longs to follow in the footsteps of Diva, Yoon Ran Joo (Kim Hyo Jin). Running away from an abusive father with the help of fellow classmate Kiho, she ends up stranded on a deserted island for 15 years. Improbable, maybe. But as a metaphor for having your early dreams slip away from you due to tragic, uncontrollable circumstance, it was pretty good. The show had shades of the delightful Thirty But Seventeen.

Fifteen years later, Mok Ha is rescued and tries to revive the career she aspired to while reconnecting with the loyal and generous Kiho.

Except that isn't what Castaway Diva is really about at all. Instead, the show veers off endlessly into the mid-career travails of the fading Ran Joo who isn't as successful as she'd hoped and is struggling with a disloyal agency and nodes. The idea this could somehow equate to 15 years on a deserted island alone after burying your abusive father is outright bonkers. The parallels between these two concepts - the literal and figurative isolation of obscurity for an idol - seems to be what this writer is trying to make and it's frankly gross. Ran Joo comes off as spoilt and entitled and narcissistic and Mok Ha gets dragged into outright fraud in trying to support her idol.

Kiho meanwhile is stranded on his own figurative island (or something) but the connections between these three 'castaway' plotlines is tenuous at best and, in the case of Ran Joo, borderline offensive.

The show is beautiful at several points and the casting is excellent. But the music, like most idol music dramas, is overproduced and often generic. PEB has several laughable moments with her guitar singing solo where the music is so overproduced that you can barely hear her real voice at all. The child actor in comparison had some real moments where you believed she was a raw talent. The rest of the music, apart from a few exceptions, is typically banal.

With an absolutely brilliant opening two episodes and a slow descent into the tedious, Castaway Diva truly is from the sublime to the ridiculous in one show.

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The first parts of the drama was really good for me as a watcher. I have watched Castaway on the Moon way before, so I already have an idea on what it was somehow been inspired by. The child actors were really great, as they were shown as the first episodes. Their acting were superb. When they get older somehow, I was frustrated with the thriller part of the story, because it felt like it was being so far from the title of Castaway Diva but it did get better. Unfortunately though, it was only 12 episodes and I felt like the 12th episode was a rush. Still, I had a fun time watching this ongoing drama.

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A sweet

In this drama , I fell in love with Park Eun Bin. I know a lot of you did in her previous drama as a lawyer, but I didn't watch it so it's not my case. Her acting here is so sweet that you get attached to her from beginning to end.
The story is really interesting, every main characters has their secrets and their skeletons in their family closet and it's really interesting to watch them grow with it.

Mokha is so attaching, I love her loyalty. She stays true to her own values (she doesn't let people take advantage of her) and she's mature. She shows that you can achieve your goals without stepping on others. I love how she's not fake, simply good. She's not the traditional "innocent" female lead we meet in dramas: the one who's life is terrible but she's such a saint that you wonder why it happens to her. No she's someone like us, you can relate to her. But she's what everyone will call a realistically "GOOD" person.

Park Eun Bin has an amazing voice and her singing was a blessing to my ears, my phone and my laptops. The drama reminds me of Imitation because of the theme, but Mokha is more attaching than Maha.

I came across the videos of PEB singing "Someday" on Instagram and her voice was so pure that I decided to watch the whole drama.

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The Songs! Her Voice!

Park Eun Bin never, and I mean, never, fails to deliver and this is no exception - adding a whole new facet to her talents by having her knocking it out of the park with that stunning voice she has too, alongside her already award winning acting talent.

The rest of the cast are great too, of course, and I particularly loved the interplay between Park Eun Bin and Kim Hyo Jin (who played Ran Joo), and Lee Re who played Seo Mok Ha when she was younger was an absolutely inspired choice - the two of them were a brilliant younger/older pairing and so often when watching the older Mok Ha I could see the little twitches or tells that were the same as Lee Re portrayed on the younger Mok Ha - this truly felt like a younger and older version of the same person.

This is a story of people who have lost their way, whether it's in their careers and dreams or literally on an island, and how those people find each other and guide each other to their futures.

The music throughout is spectacular, absolutely my taste and i'll be adding most of it to my playlist on Spotify, wait for the credits at the end of the last episode for a different video to one of the songs too featuring Mok Ha on the island, nice little treat.

Of course aside from Mok Ha on the island, you've got a number of other things at play, from Ran Joo losing her way as an artist, to the other things happening to Ki Ho, Mok ha's friend from home who tried to run away with her at the start that threaten to not just derail their futures but potentially worse.

Numerous times throughout watching this you'll get those big warm fuzzies, or ball your eyes out, depending on how you react - not spoiling anything but... Ran Joo and the balloons, that's all i'm saying. Sorry, i've got something in my eye...

Trigger warnings - abusive parents at the start, pretty tough to watch, but it all contributes to the story I thought and none of it was gratuitous.

I'd happily re-watch this one. The songs, the sights of seeing her grow and sing, the journey the other characters take, I don't think knowing what comes actually diminishes the value of re-watching it much if at all.

Right, i'm off to get a fair-use warning on Spotify for listening to the OST for this too much...

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Wow! What a soundtrack and story!

This is a tale of survival that took me on a journey, serving up a platter of diverse emotions. There were moments of uproarious laughter, loud enough for all my neighbors to hear, and times when I held my breath as tears flowed. The story and characters had me completely engrossed. I eagerly anticipated each episode and, by the end, found myself wishing for more than the allotted 12 episodes. I yearned to delve deeper into the lives of the main characters who proved both fascinating and relatable.

And let's talk about the music—it was as impactful as the story itself! The music felt like an additional cast member, bringing power, inspiration, and beauty to the series.

Now, this series has earned a spot on my all-time favorites list. My only gripe is that I wish it were longer.

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A new fave

This will now be one of my absolute favorite dramas! It had suspense, love, tears, relationships & a family oriented show.

I don't write many reviews bc most others have said what I agree with. But this drama gave me the "good feels!"
The story started out with family issues & dreams of overcoming those dynamics.

Ki-ho & Mok-ha survived 15 years without each other both missing the other.

Both grew & their story wasn't the only one for the show. Many side stories with complications but the ending was appropriate & the ending I wish had a little more but seriously what can ya do.

I wonder if I can buy the soundtrack but will definitely be a favorite that I watch again.

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Tissues are required to watch this drama

The first episode was a lot. The characters gave me GOONG vibes - you'd think this drama would be cheesy...BUT IT AIN'T!

I did not expect to ball my eyes out in the first episode. The topic of DA really hits me hard. I think the director and actors did well in conveying what some scenarios are like (and how victims may feel/think). It really does suck for Jang KiHo's situation (Father being a police officer - can't really report him with how corrupt the government/society is).

As you go through the drama, some things may seem expected/predictable, but it's still such a well-told drama (so far, as i haven't completed the drama yet). I've cried almost every episode, as each episode brings up different challenges and back stories of each character - the struggles!

I'm such a fan of all the dramas Park EunBin has been in, and her costars are always so amazing (good team work).

Also, I had high expectations when I saw who the screenwriter (Park Hye Ryun) and Director (Oh Choong Hwan) were, as they have been responsible for many amazing dramas I love.

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Good Introduction till Episode 6, but average in mid and later parts.

Meh, overall average drama. Mannerisms of Park Eun Bin seemed like she was trying to relive extraordinary attorney woo days with jelloa do accent. ML was totally absent from whole drama and his brother (SML) seemed more prominent to the story, maybe he was overshadowed by his own younger self. One-time watch.
The whole struggle of FL seemed lacking with the addition of Kim Hyo Jin. Amidst the whole different storylines the writer should have given more time and emotions in each and every aspect of struggle from FL being above age, FL's struggle on Island(which should have been given a whole episode), Hyo Jin with her voice and ML with his family. Writer tried to tackle too much in too little detail and overall execution seemed bland and suffered from emotional disconnect. Finally the biggest weak point is in trying to lift up FL so much the casting of ML should have been better. He lacked so much screen presence in front of Eun Bin, guy should work in more dramas as Second lead or take more male centric parts to hone up his presence. I watched another of his drama Unlock my boss and it suffered from same problem.
Lastly, point of appreciation for high school parts played by teenage actors , they rocked their parts.

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