Capitalism, Space, and the Politics of Escape in Castaway on the Moon

This study examines Castaway on the Moon through the lens of capitalism’s spatial theory and the politics of escape in order to show in detail how late capitalist pressures, along with technology-driven forms of isolation, reshape individual subjectivity in complex ways. The purpose is to develop a careful, scene-based spatial reading that links the most ordinary everyday practices to reversible movements between utopia and dystopia, and to demonstrate how these shifts occur within the specific visual and narrative strategies of the film. The significance of this approach lies in connecting Korean cinema to wider international debates on the production of space while also proposing a transferable and adaptable model for spatial analysis in film studies that can be applied beyond this particular case. The research employs qualitative textual and spatial analysis of carefully selected scenes, with each scene treated as a coherent unit composed of both image and action. Findings indicate that the island functions as a counter-space that slows down the perception of time and enables practices of self-sufficiency, while the enclosed room concentrates speed, visibility, and consumption. These two poles do not remain fixed or static oppositions but rather flow into one another, showing a dynamic and unstable process of negotiation. The article contributes an integrated method that demonstrates how isolation gradually becomes a fragile politics of escape through small yet significant rearrangements of space, daily routine, and patterns of attention. Finally, the conclusion discusses the broader implications for studies of late capitalist everyday life, as well as for comparative analyses within Korean cinema, highlighting how spatial practices illuminate the tensions between confinement and freedom.