The Island of Sea Women

In February, it’s time for the shaman to perform an annual ritual, asking for the blessing of the goddess on both the fishermen and the haenyeo of Jeju. Since shamanism has been outlawed, this is a risky undertaking, but everything goes off without any interference from the authorities.

Shortly after this, a group of men appears in Hado. Some are Korean, others Japanese, and some are Caucasian. They are led by a Korean man named Dr. Park. He announces that they are scientists looking to study the haenyeo. Apparently, the divers have the highest resistance to hypothermia of any group of humans on the planet, and he is looking for volunteers for this study.

Young-sook’s twelve-year-old daughter, Joon-lee, talks her family into volunteering. The girl attends school and is the brightest in her class. She is fascinated by the scientists and acts as an intermediary between them and the divers. The scientists are impressed by Young-sook’s cold tolerance and conduct tests for two weeks before moving on.

Young-sook worries about her children because their father was a teacher, and the government might be watching them as potential dissidents, which is known as the guilt-by-association list. She confides to Do-saeng, “‘What future can I give my children when we have the guilt-by-association system?’ ‘Those we lost were not guilty of anything.’ ‘That’s not how the government sees it. Anyone who died is considered guilty’” (280-81).

For some unaccountable reason, the government decides to send textbooks to the schoolchildren on Jeju. All the girls receive Heidi. It doesn’t take long for all the islanders to become addicted to the story. Joon-lee announces that someday she’s going to Switzerland.

Three months later, Dr. Park and his team of scientists return to study the haenyeo in Hado again. They measure the calorie intake a haenyeo consumes to maintain her body temperature. Young-sook invites the doctor to her house for dinner to see the typical diet. That evening, Joon-lee’s teacher, Dr. Oh, arrives to say that the girl has been chosen to compete in an academic contest in Jeju City. Joon-lee is thrilled and goes out for the evening with her friends. Later, the family learns that Joon-lee had a bicycle accident. Young-sook is furious because the bike belongs to Mi-ja’s son, Yo-chan. Dr. Park drives everyone to the hospital where the girl’s broken arm is set in a cast. Back at home, Young-sook worries that her sixteen-year-old daughter, Min-lee, or her best friend, Wan-soon, might be having sex with Yo-chan.

On Sunday, the diving team plans its next outing. Min-lee and Wan-soon are partnered together. Diving chief Gu-ja insists that they go out into deeper ocean water to avoid the onshore winds. Later that morning, Wan-soon goes missing. Young-sook and her daughter look for the girl, only to discover a dangerous underwater rip current. Young-sook pulls Min-lee out of danger just in time, but Wan-soon’s body is never found. There is some speculation in the village that Wan-soon might have gotten pregnant by Yo-chan. Mi-ja and her son abruptly leave town to avoid the rumors.

Ten days later, the shaman holds a ceremony to quiet Wan-soon’s wandering spirit. As the diving chief, Gu-ja is particularly upset by the accident. Young-sook says, “Dealing with an accident or death is every haenyeo chief’s greatest torment. She must lead, even as she feels grief and culpability” (297-98). Gu-ja announces that she wants to step down as chief. Young-sook is immediately nominated to take her place, and everyone agrees.

Dr. Oh tells Young-sook that Joon-lee has been selected to attend middle school in Jeju City. She will board with a family there. Despite Young-sook’s fears that the authorities will target the girl as an intellectual radical because of her father, Dr. Oh says that they are looking favorably on her achievements and may even send her to the university one day. Young-sook bids a tearful farewell when her daughter steps onto the bus for the big city.

Later, Young-sook goes to see Mi-ja’s empty house. All the furniture and possessions are still there, and the door is unlocked. She walks inside and thinks to herself, “I touched her things and sensed her all around me. The house became the scab I could not stop picking” (30).