Castaway on the Moon (2009)
Movie · 2009 · Drama, Comedy, Romance · 1h 59m · Korean
Curator score: 8.1/10 (21.6K ratings)
Once in a life time, There comes a moment that you live in HOPE.
Overview
Mr. Kim is jobless, lost in debt and has been dumped by his girlfriend. He decides to end it all by jumping into the Han River – only to find himself washed up on a small, mid-river island. He soon abandons thoughts of suicide or rescue and begins a new life as a castaway. His antics catch the attention of a young woman whose apartment overlooks the river. Her discovery changes both their lives.
Ratings
- Curator score: 8.1/10
- IMDb: 7.9/10
- TMDB: 7.9/10
Director
Lee Hae-jun
Production
Cinema Service, CJ Entertainment, Banzakbanzak Film Production
Cast
Jung Jae-young, Jung Ryeo-won, Yang Mi-kyung, Lee Sang-hun, Jang So-yeon, Park Young-seo, Koo Kyo-hwan, Lee Kyung-joon, Min Kyung-jin, Jang Nam-yeol, Lee Kyoo-hyung, Lim Dong-yoon
Curator Review
Verdict
A wonderfully odd, bittersweet dramedy that turns isolation into a tender fable about survival, dignity, and connection. Its premise is absurd, but the film plays it with enough warmth, visual invention, and emotional honesty to land as both funny and moving.
Best for
- Viewers who like offbeat Korean cinema
- Fans of melancholy comedies with a romantic streak
- People drawn to stories about loneliness, reinvention, and small human rituals
- Audiences who enjoy whimsical high-concept premises grounded in real feeling
Skip if
- You want a straightforward romance
- You dislike quirky tonal shifts
- You prefer tightly realistic storytelling
- You are impatient with slow-burn character work
Overview
Castaway on the Moon is one of those rare high-concept films that keeps finding new emotional angles after the joke has already landed. What begins as a suicide attempt becomes a survival story, then a quiet study of self-made purpose, and finally a strangely touching connection across distance. The film’s comedy is playful rather than broad, and its melancholy never feels forced.
Worth noting
The two central performances give the movie its soul: one character rebuilding a life from scraps, the other observing the world from a place of self-imposed isolation. Their parallel loneliness gives the film a gentle romantic charge without turning it into a conventional love story. It’s funny, sad, and unexpectedly humane.
Bottom line
The movie’s charm comes from how seriously it treats absurdity. It finds poetry in routine, in scavenging, in looking, and in being seen. If you like your comedies with emotional aftertaste and your romances with a little existential weirdness, this is a standout.
Top Letterboxd reviews
Peaceful Stoner (5★) · 267 likes
I have always longed for a primitive kind of living, where money is irrelevant and I happen to live with nature, close to it, kissing it, lying in its arms and having all the time in the world to live in my own world, create my own needs instead of buying them, living without the pressure of work, money, heart breaks from relationships and, the most excruciating, the death of beloved ones, of a normal worldly life. I know that… more I have always longed for a primitive kind of living, where money is irrelevant and I happen to live with nature, close to it, kissing it, lying in its arms and having all the time in the world to live in my own world, create my own needs instead of buying them, living without the pressure of work, money, heart breaks from relationships and, the most excruciating, the death of beloved ones, of a normal worldly life. I know that… more
Asia the Invincible (5★) · 191 likes
"It's not for health reasons.After putting on 10.000 steps,I feel like I had a good, busy day.It's an all-too-healthy way of escapism." So writer/director Lee Hae-Jun knows what made me buy that rowing machine last year - splendid..Starring Jeong JaeYeong as the male Kim and Jung Ryeo-Won as the female Kim, Castaway on the Moon opens with male Kim trying to commit suicide via jumping from the infamous Mapo Bridge in Seoul to his death in… more
Rafael "Mister Movie" Jovine (4★) · 146 likes
RESEÑA EN ESPAÑOL ACTION! - THE SOUTH REMAINS Reinventing the wheel seems like an impossible task, and this film doesn’t fully achieve this, but it definitely gives a spin to the whole “man stranded on an island” subgenre, as our lead, a suicidal man who jumped off a bridge, managed to survive… kinda. You see, he decides to end it all by jumping into the a river -only to find himself on a piece of land in the midst of… more
Jonathan White (5★) · 122 likes
This is my third watch now, and I still love it as much as the first; maybe even more. I haven’t reviewed it, really. I’ve written a few lines about my love, but that’s it. Usually when I write a review, I reflect and deconstruct a film. Often times it changes my perspective and perception. This is why I had apprehension about going through this process with Castaway on the Moon. I was afraid by analyzing, it would lose some… more This is my third watch now, and I still love it as much as the first; maybe even more. I haven’t reviewed it, really. I’ve written a few lines about my love, but that’s it. Usually when I write a review, I reflect and deconstruct a film. Often times it changes my perspective and perception. This is why I had apprehension about going through this process with Castaway on the Moon. I was afraid by analyzing, it would lose some… more
Xfaxe (4★) · 118 likes
Castaway on the Moon is a thoughtful metaphor of the feeling of being alone in the presence of others. However the package is something completely original. The story feels short and is surprisingly funny. Yet another great South Korean film! 2025 watchlist with Thindra #32
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Topics
dramedy, romantic fable, quirky, melancholy, urban isolation, survival, whimsical, human connection, 2000s Korean cinema