Book
The Island of Sea Women
by Lisa See
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On the Korean island of Jeju, Young-sook and Mi-ja train as haenyeo, women divers whose labour supports their households. Young-sook comes from a respected diving family, while Mi-ja bears the stigma of her father’s collaboration with the Japanese colonial authorities. Working together in a matrifocal community, the girls develop a friendship that appears capable of overcoming class, family history and danger at sea.
Their lives are transformed by Japanese rule, the Second World War, liberation, the Jeju uprising and the Korean War. A catastrophic encounter with state violence leaves each woman with a different understanding of betrayal and responsibility, and the consequences extend across decades. The novel uses the haenyeo’s labour and collective memory to trace how occupation and ideological conflict enter intimate relationships.
Historical periods
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