Jealousy vs Envy: Conflicting Emotions in Castaway Diva
The effects of cooler boxes and wild boars on interpersonal relationships
Tags: #KDrama #CastawayDiva #WomenSupportingWomen #Jealousy #Envy #7DeadlySins
*Major Spoilers for Castaway Diva*
“Let’s become the best at all costs.” – Seo Mok-Ha
The 2023 KDrama season ended with a banger: Castaway Diva (tvN 2023). If you can make it through the heart-wrenching first episode setting up the rest of the series, you’re already hooked. The drama asks the timeless question: can you still follow your dreams after being stuck on a deserted island for 15 years? It turns out, with the help and support of your idol, your first love, and his identity-stealing family, you can.
Seo Mok-Ha is a world-class singer from the countryside, running away to make her debut in Seoul, when she falls off of the ferry and washes up on a deserted island. For 15 years, she struggles to survive, until one day, a group of volunteers rescues her and brings her back to mainland Korea. Mok-Ha is undeterred from her mission to meet her idol, Yoon Ran-Joo, and with the help of her rescuers Kang Bo-Gul and Kang Woo-Hak, sets off to make all her dreams come true. Through some twists and turns, Ran-Joo and Mok-Ha join forces and encourage and support each other to become successful.
In Mok-Ha’s journey to fulfill her dreams, she meets Eun Mo-Rae and Park Yong-Gwan, other artists at Ran-Joo’s label. While their individual circumstances are vastly different, both have strong reactions in the face of Mok-Ha’s determination to succeed in a ruthless industry. Mo-Rae took Mok-Ha’s place as a debut artist and became wildly successful, while Mok-Ha was lost at sea. Yong-Gwan, however, stepped away from his singing career after repeated criticisms, finding it especially difficult to deal with the ones aimed at his age.
“In life, you’ll learn that some people become happy over other people’s misfortunes [...] many become jealous of other people’s success [...] they refuse to blame themselves. That’s why they blame it on others and want to bring them down. Because that’s easier.” – Yoon Ran-Joo
What is perhaps particularly interesting is the cast’s relationship dynamics. Whereas Mo-Rae and Yong-Gwan are jealous of Mok-Ha, Ran-Joo is mostly portrayed as envious. While envy and jealousy are often used synonymously, they carry different meanings. According to emotions researcher Brené Brown (2021), envy refers to wanting something the other person has. It is about longing for someone else's possession, accomplishments, or attributes. In contrast, jealousy is the fear of losing something you already have to someone else. It is thus perceived as a threat to one’s existing possessions or status. Where envy is notably the result of longing and inferiority, jealousy is characterized by anxiety and anger (Parrot and Smith 1993). This certainly has an effect on their interactions with the castaway diva, Mok-Ha, creating tension and drama for some and opportunities to thrive for others.
Jealousy: “The boar that found its way onto the deserted island.” – Seo Mok-Ha
When Mok-Ha fails to arrive at her idol audition, Mo-Rae takes her place, eventually surpassing Ran-Joo in popularity. Despite Mo-Rae’s wild success, she keeps getting referred to as Mok-Ha’s replacement, indicating a somewhat inferior status to the castaway diva. This may be why when Mok-Ha returns, Mo-Rae feels threatened.
Mo-Rae, overseas at the beginning of the show, only returns to Korea after hearing about Mok-Ha’s rescue. Despite not knowing each other personally until well into the drama, their relationship dynamic was tainted from the start with label President Lee Seo-Joon and Ran-Joo’s perceptions of the replacement-diva. This left Mo-Rae feeling intimidated and endangered for her career, believing that her only reason for success was Mok-Ha’s disappearance.
With her jealousy fully unleashed, Mo-Rae pre-records her song in the competition against Mok-Ha only to be challenged to perform by the producer. Mo-Rae goes ahead with singing live and ultimately loses in the battle of the voices. Mo-Rae, troubled by how others view her, uses this as justification for her dislike of Mok-Ha.
“That’s the saddest part. You couldn’t dream to be bigger than me.” – Yoon Ran-Joo
Besides Mok-Ha, Mo-Rae’s relationship with Ran-Joo is also contentious. Fueled by her jealousy of Mok-Ha, Mo-Rae strives to surpass Ran-Joo. Regardless of her own success, Mo-Rae is still impaired by her own insecurities. President Lee also compares Mo-Rae to Mok-Ha, and as a result, Mo-Rae finds herself living in the shadows of both the castaway and the queen diva.
It is not until President Lee forces Mo-Rae and Mok-Ha to swap songs that Mo-Rae confronts her inner demons. At first mention of the switch, both Mo-Rae and Mok-Ha are reluctant to do so. Both believe they are losing all the hard work they’ve already put into their own songs by handing it over to the other. However, when they take a moment to listen to the other’s music, their opinions begin to change which allows them to appreciate the value in each other's work. With this, Mo-Rae’s jealousy shifts towards envy. She is less concerned about losing her song and place in the industry, and more focused on what she can bring to Mok-Ha’s song. Instead of being pit against each other, their different strengths take center stage.
“No one is cowardly or deceitful because they want to be. We all become desperate and make choices for our own reasons.” – Park Yong-Gwan
First introduced as a temporary manager for Ran-Joo, Yong-Gwan is a failed singer-songwriter. Originally discovered by Ran-Joo, he had a difficult time breaking into the industry due to his age. While Ran-Joo supported Yong-Gwan’s career, Mo-Rae was becoming more and more successful and President Lee was beginning to question the money and time that was put towards Yong-Gwan’s albums. Discouraged, Yong-Gwan takes an offer to work as a manager for other artists with the label.
Repeatedly, he attempts to undermine Mok-Ha as she helps Ran-Joo and pursues her own dreams. As Mok-Ha is preparing for her debut, she discovers a discarded track written by Yong-Gwan and requests to use it in a showcase performance. Jealous of Mok-Ha’s determination to debut and continue singing, despite her age and circumstances, Yong-Gwan tries to dissuade her.
As he witnesses her perform, from the first time as a ‘ghost-singer’ to her later performances for smaller audiences, he is confronted with her joy and contentment at doing what she dreamed of doing, rather than harboring frustration and impatience. Despite not obtaining instant success on Mo-Rae’s level and Mok-Ha debuting later in life than even Yong-Gwan, she doesn’t give up or complain that she isn’t a star. Faced with Mok-Ha’s unending determination, he begins to support her, making peace with his past decisions. Instead of his jealousy over her choices, Yong-Gwan releases his anger and regret.
“In life, it feels like the world mistreats you. And you take your anger out on the wrong person.” – Old woman
Mo-Rae and Yong-Gwan both perceive themselves to be mistreated by others; President Lee, Ran-Joo, and the general public. Their felt injustices invoke misguided resentment and jealousy towards those who seemingly were better off or more successful. Their actions serve as a cautionary tale to the viewer that misplaced blame hinders your personal growth. While they allow their jealousy to initially act as a hindrance, through their interactions with Mok-Ha, they are able to transform this anger and anxiety into the more beneficial emotion envy.
Envy: “You were my cooler box.” – Yoon Ran-Joo
At the other end of the spectrum, Ran-Joo’s and Mok-Ha’s relationship more closely embodies envy. When they first meet, Ran-Joo has lost the full strength of her singing voice while Mok-Ha has retained her talent despite being stranded in the deserted island. It would be typical of most stories to have Ran-Joo take advantage of Mok-Ha and manipulate her to further Ran-Joo’s own career, she instead becomes Mok-Ha’s advocate and ‘first’ fan. Certainly, Ran-Joo is envious of Mok-Ha’s voice, however, she does not fear that Mok-Ha will take her place in the music business. Perhaps this is due to her previous experience with Mo-Rae and subsequent fall from the spotlight, but Ran-Joo and Mok-Ha’s relationship is characterized by enthusiasm and support for the other woman.
After revealing Mok-Ha’s return, Ran-Joo becomes her producer. As the two plan to release her debut album and first music video, Mok-Ha works behind her back to turn the shoot into a comeback song for Ran-Joo. Neither woman feels as if she lives in the shadow of the other. Instead, they both wish for the genuine success of the other, and trust that they both have good intentions.
“I’ve withered, but I’ll act like a blooming flower, because today is April Fools’ Day.” – Yoon Ranjoo
Even when complications with Mok-Ha’s past cause her to briefly try and run from her new career, Ran-Joo accepts and understands her decision. Ran-Joo did not forgive Mok-Ha instantly, but instead the two discussed the options in front of Mok-Ha realistically, in order to move forward on the same page. Later, after a journalist reveals the truth behind Ran-Joo and Mok-Ha’s arrangement during the singing show, Mok-Ha refuses to accept Ran-Joo's offer to step back so that her scandal will not affect the new singer’s career. While Ran-Joo is envious of Mok-Ha’s voice, she doesn’t let that emotion destroy her. Ran-Joo can separate Mok-Ha’s skills and her own lacking ability, without letting the disparity consume her, in order to move forward together.
“Let the failure of others become a lesson to you. Learn what you can and ignore the rest.” – Yoon Ran-Joo v “They say failure is the mother of success. I’ll just take it as learning a lesson from another mother and move on.” – Seo Mok-Ha
The relationship between Ran-Joo and Mok-Ha is the real gem of Castaway Diva. We won’t even bother mentioning the whole romance side of the show, because it’s cute, but ultimately just another romcom Kdrama. What truly takes center stage for us is the feminist lesson that empowered women empower women. Despite longing for each other’s skills, envy does not become destructive. Instead, it is a powerful tool and a reminder from karma; put out positivity and positivity will come back to you.
Conclusion: “It's extremely difficult to sincerely root for other people. Mokha, that’s the reason why you’re incredible.” – Yoon Ranjoo
While Mo-Rae and Yong-Gwan allow themselves to be briefly consumed by jealousy, it is their own fear of losing out that causes tension and obstacles for themselves. In contrast, despite her anxiety over her own singing ability, Ran-Joo embraces Mok-Ha’s talents, which in turn flourishes her own growth. Mok-Ha takes what the island taught her, and doesn’t allow other’s gains or losses to distract her from finding joy and success.
There is a lot that we didn’t mention about this drama, but Mok-Ha is truly a ball of positivity that we should all be channeling for the new year. Stranded on an island for 15 years with only a seagull for company, thrust into a world that advanced without her and a savage industry, Mok-Ha not only pursued her dreams with a tenacity of character that puts even the best of us to shame. Undeterred by wild boars, defiant in the face of personal identity laws, and stanning Ran-Joo forever, Mok-Ha doesn’t let the opinions of others determine her view of her own self-worth. And that is something everyone should strive for.
Sources
Brown, B. (2021). Brené Brown Clarifies the Difference Between Jealousy and Envy. The Ellen Show, 9 December, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBkA1WNWaUQ
Parrot, W.G., Smith, R.H. (1993). Distinguishing the experiences of envy and jealousy. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 64(6), 906-920
Image Credit
Park, E.B. [@eunbining0904] (2023). “#무인도의디바 #CastawayDiva 🏝 10월 28일 토요일 밤 9시20분 첫 방송🩵💙” 16 October, https://www.instagram.com/p/CycRsFXReHl/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
tvN [@tvn_drama] (2023). “기다리던 첫 방송, 드디어 D-1🔥목하X란주의 짜릿한 팀플레이💃부터 어딘가 설레는 목하X보걸X우학 케미💕까지! 기대 포인트들로 가득한 <무인도의 디바> 내일 첫 방송 놓치지 마세요! (｡•̀ᴗ-ღ) <무인도의 디바>
10/28 [토] 첫 방송 | [토일] 밤 9:20 tvN #무인도의디바 #CastawayDiva #박은빈 @eunbining0904 #김효진 @hyojin__0705
#채종협 @chaejh_ #차학연 @achahakyeon #김주헌 @zu_hun_kim #tvN #스트리밍은TVING” 27 October, https://www.instagram.com/p/Cy4rN9EIhJI/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link