The Island of Sea Women

This is a well-written book about a culture and a place that I was completely unaware of, and a story about friendship and community that is common to all women. We were so lucky to be able to chat with the author when we discussed this book in my book club. Ms. See shared with me ahead of time about her friend's tea company and I was able to enhance our book club with a tea tasting and some Korean sweets. It was really fun! (https://www.banateacompany.com/pages/book-club-tea-tasting-kit-korean.html)
This story follows some characters through a lifetime of change - cultural, societal, technological and governmental change. It deals with loss in many ways - death, loss of friendship, loss of a way of life. It was compelling to learn about a society of women Haenyeo who provide so much to each other in a group setting and dynamic that will be familiar to any woman in any culture. The Haenyeo provide protection, food, knowledge, power, purpose, friendship, community, feedback, accountability, laughter and love to each other. It's hard to say what struck me the most about The Island of Sea Women, but perhaps it is the author's skill that wove together a part of history that was new to me with a story about relationships that will resonate with many. This also made this a wonderful book club choice, because there was so much to discuss.

This was a beautifully composed tale of love, loss, friendship, heartbreak, strength (lots of it), resilience, trauma, and forgiveness.

Lately, my exploration of East Asian Literature has been leading me to uncover a lot of history and associative trauma that were uncharted territories to me. With this book, I was able to explore a dying tradition, an almost unique societal structure, and a tale of undying strength and resilience in the face of hardships.

Lisa See is truly a wonderful writer and I'm looking forward to reading more of her works.

Told in part in first person in the past and in third during 2008, The Island of Sea Women follows the stories of Mija and Youngsook as as their lives unfurl as hanyeo on the Korean island of Jeju. This book starts during the Japanese colonization of Korea and follows through World War II, the Korean War, up to 2008. This is a story about friendship, about family– both the ones we are born into and the ones that we create– tradition, one of love.. and of loss.

This book... I want to start off by saying that I was incredibly excited to read this book for the Barnes and Noble book club. I run it every month, so of course I was going to read it anyway, but I was really motivated to read it because of my own studies of Korea and Korean history. I felt like this book was well researched and definitely well written. There are moments where I laughed, and definitely quite a few where I cried. I made the mistake of reading one of the most heartbreaking scenes in the book while I was out in a public park on my vacation and oh how the tears wanted to flow. You don't have to have a knowledge of Korean history to read this book and to enjoy it. I think that the stories of Mija and Youngsook are so powerful and important on their own that anyone could read it and enjoy it.

Lisa See tackles the free-diving women of the South Korean island of Jeju. It's been a matrifocal society since a 17th century king conscripted most of the island men to his army but still required his tribute of abalone. The remaining women had no choice but to take to the sea and they've been doing it ever since.

Young-Sook is 85 in 2008 when the book opens. She's managed to survive the seas as a haenyeo but living on the island has exacted a heavy toll. Jumping back to 1938 we're introduced to who will be her best friend, Mi-ja. This is their story growing up.

The haenyeo have a saying: “Every woman who enters the sea carries a coffin on her back” and we're quickly introduced to the many dangers they face underwater. This alone would have made for a compelling story, the girls growing in their underwater abilities, travelling to the frigid waters of Vladivostok, the petty jealousies and familial hardships their friendship would endure. But their lives are set on a horribly different path in the aftermath of the 4.3 incident.

April 3, 1948 saw an island uprising against the US installed government that was violently suppressed with some estimates seeing 1 in 10 islanders eventually killed while others put the number closer to 1 in 4. It's a brief, jarring and incredibly violent episode in the novel that sets the girls on separate paths.

So I came for the story and stayed for Lisa See introducing me to this heretofore unknown aspect of Korean history that sent me down a rabbit hole. Requisite booktubing in cars review here: https://youtu.be/o5jwCqucmOo

A very thoroughly-researched fiction book about the haenyeo women on Korea's Jeju island. I only really knew of Jeju as a popular vacation spot for Koreans (and foreign tourists too), but there's a lot of history there to unpack. From Japan's colonisation, the US taking over after WW2, to the horrific massacres that decimated the population - there's some heartwarming bits but it's not a fun book.

Also just learning about the haenyeo in general, who dived up to 20m to harvest abalone, octopus etc. and uniquely it was the women who brought home the money and the men that stayed home with the kids. (Although somehow it still seemed like the men had some of the power. Funny how that happens).

I really, really enjoyed this book! Taking place over many years and through horrifying historical events, the Island of Sea Women opened my eyes to a lot of Korean history I have never learned about before and about these amazing and interesting women whose unique culture, history and beliefs drive them to provide for their families by the dangerous trade of sea diving. At its heart though, this book has an emotional backbone that gave it real life. The friendship between two girls from youth to womanhood and through tumultuous times, hardships and changes was the core of the story and had me invested from start to finish. A story that centres on female friendships is so rare it seems, that this was a breathe of fresh air. Their joy, loss, heartbreak, family ties, community and so much more was explored in this story and it made me ache for both of them in ways that surprised me and had me thinking about it even when I wasn't reading it - a mark of a really excellent story. It will pull at your heart strings, but also gives you a lot of information to chew on. I definitely want to learn more about these women and their unique, but tough lifestyle. I was inspired and in awe of them for sure. This the first book I've read of Lisa See's and I will definitely check out her other work. She crafted such an amazing, inspiring story out of a little known people, place and time. Highly recommended!