The Island of Sea Women


Title: The Island of Sea Women
Author: See, Lisa
London : Scribner, 2019.

Jeju Island, Korea in the 1930s was made up of huge teams of women – the haenyeo - the all-female diving collective who provided for their families during the seasons, while the men of the families cared for the children. Young-sook was born into the life. Her mother was chief of their diving group, guiding them into the perfect places for the best catch. As Young-sook began her diving life as a baby diver, she had Mi-ja, her best friend, by her side. Together they learned the craft under the guidance and care of Young-sook’s mother.

The Island of Sea Women is a slow-paced fascinating story about the life of a remote ethic group during the great war time. Lisa See wrote a completely involving novel which covers the horrid events of the Jeju uprising; the dreadful cruelty of the South Koreans and the brutal deaths of many of the island’s population. All these events were blended into a fiction tale, told through one woman in an exotic cultural setting. Although there is diference in form, the feeling and emitions are kept the same. By transcibe such feelings through variation, Lisa See was able to consttuct something that could last.   

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