Castaway Diva () is a 2023 South Korean television series directed by Oh Choong-hwan, written by Park Hye-ryun and Eun Yeol, and starring Park Eun-bin, Kim Hyo-jin, Chae Jong-hyeop, Cha Hak-yeon and Kim Joo-hun. It premiered on tvN from October 28 to December 3, 2023, and aired every Saturday and Sunday at 21:20 (KST) for 12 episodes. It is also available for streaming on Netflix in selected regions.
Synopsis Seo Mok-ha (Park Eun-bin) is a girl who dreams of becoming a diva, or K-pop idol. She wins a UCC competition and goes to Seoul for an audition, gets stranded on an uninhabited island due to an unfortunate accident and returns to the world after 15 years. Trying to readjust to society, she gets the chance of a lifetime when her idol is performing at a local event, although she is washed up due to her decline in fame during those 15 years. Wanting to give back to her idol's being her reason to live, she becomes her idol's manager, helping her achieve stardom once more.
Apart from the tenacity (and luck) needed to have survived alone on a desert island for 15 years, there is also a subplot or theme running through about domestic violence, escaping it and managing to live a happy life with non-toxic people.
Cast Main Park Eun-bin as Seo Mok-ha Lee A-Rin as child Seo Mok-ha Lee Re as young Seo Mok-ha A girl who dreams of auditioning to become a diva, cast away from society for 15 years until she is rescued. Kim Hyo-jin as Yoon Ran-joo Han Da-in as child Yoon Ran-joo Son Ye-rin as young Yoon Ran-joo A gorgeous top star and diva that Mok-ha loves. Washed up after needing vocal cord surgery. Chae Jong-hyeop as Kang Bo-geol / Jung Ki-ho Moon Woo-jin as young Kang Bo-geol / young Jung Ki-ho Mok-ha's middle school classmate who's now a producer at YGN's entertainment department. Cha Hak-yeon as Kang Woo-hak / Jung Chae-ho Kang Tae-ung as young Kang Woo-hak / Jung Chae-ho Bo-geol's older brother and a YGN news reporter.
Supporting Bo-geol and Woo-hak's family Seo Jeong-yeon as Song Ha-jeong / Yang Jae-kyung Woo-hak and Bo-geol's mother who runs a hair salon. Lee Joong-ok as Kang Sang-du / Lee Uk Woo-hak and Bo-geol's adoptive father.
RJ Entertainment Kim Joo-hun as Lee Seo-joon Ran-joo's former manager, who is currently a CEO of RJ Entertainment. Bae Gang-hee as Eun Mo-rae The most popular singer under RJ Entertainment. Shin Joo-hyup as Park Yong-gwan Seo-joon's right-hand man and Mo-rae's manager at RJ Entertainment.
Nth Primetime team Kim Bo-jung as Hong Yeon-kyung 'Nth Primetime' main producer. Yoon Jeong-hoon as Ahn Dong-min 'Nth Primetime' assistant director.
People in Chunsam Island Lee Seung-joon as Jung Bong-wan Ki-ho and Chae-ho's father who is a police officer at the police station. Kim Min-seok as Han Dae-woong An insurance agent and Mok-ha's classmate before she fell to the uninhabited island in an accident. Oh Kyung-hwa as Moon Young-ju Mok-ha's best friend and Dae-woong's wife. Lee Yoo-joon as Seo Jeong-ho Mok-ha's father who runs a raw fish restaurant.
People around Yoon Ran-joo Song Kyung-cheol as Hwang Byung-gak Kim Min-soo as young Hwang Byung-gak CEO of Sugar Entertainment, Yoon Ran-joo's former entertainment company Moon Sook as Go San-hee Yang Seo-yoon as 20-years-old Go San-hee Woo Hyun-zoo as 50-years-old Go San-hee Yoon Ran-joo's mother who identifies herself as her daughter because of her condition. Kang Myung-joo as bar owner
Extended Oh Ji-hye as Dr. Kim Oh Eui-sik as reporter Bong Du-hyeon Park Mi-sook as Cha Mi-hye A popular stylist who worked with Yoon Ran-joo and Eun Mo-rae Min Sung-Wook as Prosecutor Lee Ji-Gwang
Production Development The series marked the third collaboration between director Oh Choong-hwan and screenwriter Park Hye-ryun after While You Were Sleeping (2017) and Start-Up (2020). Star News reported that the drama is being discussed to release on tvN's Saturday and Sunday timeslot in the second half of 2023.
Filming On March 9, 2023, it was reported that the series had finished its first script reading on March 8 in Seoul, and would begin filming soon. On October 30, 2023, the series finished all filming and on the afternoon of November 2, the after-party was held at a restaurant in Yeouido, Seoul.
Original soundtrack Soundtrack album
The show's soundtrack album was released on December 5, 2023. It peaked at number thirty on the weekly Circle Album Chart as of January 6, 2024.
Viewership
+ Average TV viewership ratings Original broadcast date Average audience share(Nielsen Korea)Nielsen Korea ratings:
Nationwide Seoul 1 October 28, 2023 2 October 29, 2023 5.155% 5.402% 3 November 4, 2023 5.557% 6.177% 4 November 5, 2023 7.988% 8.885% 5 November 11, 2023 5.390% 6.163% 6 November 12, 2023 7.933% 8.887% 7 November 18, 2023 6.053% 6.647% 8 November 19, 2023 8.680% 9.354% 9 November 25, 2023 7.315% 8.369% 10 November 26, 2023 7.995% 8.948% 11 December 2, 2023 7.285% 8.140% 12 December 3, 2023 Average In the table above, the represent the lowest ratings and the represent the highest ratings. This series airs on a cable channel/pay TV which normally has a relatively smaller audience compared to free-to-air TV/public broadcasters (KBS, SBS, MBC and EBS).
Awards and nominations + Name of the award ceremony, year presented, category, nominee of the award, and the result of the nomination Award ceremony Year Category Nominee(s) / Work(s) Result TVING Awards2023 Tear of Year Castaway Diva APAN Star Awards2023 Best Young Actor Moon Woo-jin MAMA Awards2023 tvN of the Year: Highest ratings for a tvN drama in the second half of 2023 Castaway Diva
References
External links