On Jeju Island, south of mainland Korea, they called themselves jamsu, jamnyeo, or jomnyeo, which are all Jeju words. Haenyeo is the Korean name for the sea women who, through careful husbandry, harvest the sea through various seasons of production and restoration. Update: Happy Publication Day! (Today, March 5th, 2019) A classic Lisa See story-one of women’s friendships and the larger forces that shape them- The Island of Sea Women introduces readers to the fierce female divers of Jeju Island and the dramatic history that shaped their lives. This beautiful, thoughtful novel illuminates a unique and unforgettable culture, one where the women are in charge, engaging in dangerous physical work, and the men take care of the children. After hundreds of dives and years of friendship, forces outside their control will push their relationship to the breaking point. Nevertheless, their differences are impossible to ignore: Mi-ja is the daughter of a Japanese collaborator, forever marking her, and Young-sook was born into a long line of haenyeo and will inherit her mother’s position leading the divers.

Over many decades-through the Japanese colonialism of the 1930s and 1940s, World War II, the Korean War, and the era of cellphones and wet suits for the women divers-Mi-ja and Young-sook develop the closest of bonds. Set on the Korean island of Jeju, The Island of Sea Women follows Mi-ja and Young-sook, two girls from very different backgrounds, as they begin working in the sea with their village’s all-female diving collective. Alternate cover edition of ISBN 9781501154850

The island sea women