On page 17, Young-sook’s mother recites a traditional haenyeo aphorism: Every woman who enters the sea carries a coffin on her back.

Discuss the ways in which female relationships are depicted and the important role they play on Jeju.ģ. How are these words of warning? The friendship between Young-sook and Mi-ja is just one of many examples of powerful female relationships in the novel. When Young-sook and Mi-ja are fifteen, Young-sook’s mother says to them: “You are like sisters, and I expect you to take care of each other today and every day as those tied by blood would do” (p. What secrets or clues about the past and the present are revealed in the scenes that take place in 2008? Why do we only understand the beginning of the novel only after we have finished it?Ģ. The story begins with Young-sook as an old woman, gathering algae on the beach. We hope that this guide will enrich your conversation and increase your enjoyment of the book.ġ. This reading group guide for The Island of Sea Women includes discussion questions and ideas for enhancing your book club. “A wonderful ode to a truly singular group of women” ( Publishers Weekly), The Island of Sea Women is a “beautiful story…about the endurance of friendship when it’s pushed to its limits, and you…will love it” ( Cosmopolitan). “This vivid…thoughtful and empathetic” novel ( The New York Times Book Review) illuminates a world turned upside down, one where the women are in charge and the men take care of the children. Little do the two friends know that forces outside their control will push their friendship to the breaking point. Young-sook was born into a long line of haenyeo and will inherit her mother’s position leading the divers in their village. Mi-ja is the daughter of a Japanese collaborator.

Throughout this time, the residents of Jeju find themselves caught between warring empires. The Island of Sea Women takes place over many decades, beginning during a period of Japanese colonialism in the 1930s and 1940s, followed by World War II, the Korean War, through the era of cell phones and wet suits for the women divers. As the girls take up their positions as baby divers, they know they are beginning a life of excitement and responsibility-but also danger.ĭespite their love for each other, Mi-ja and Young-sook find it impossible to ignore their differences. When they are old enough, they begin working in the sea with their village’s all-female diving collective, led by Young-sook’s mother. Mi-ja and Young-sook, two girls living on the Korean island of Jeju, are best friends who come from very different backgrounds. “A mesmerizing new historical novel” ( O, The Oprah Magazine) from Lisa See, the bestselling author of The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane, about female friendship and devastating family secrets on a small Korean island.

Book the island of sea women