Everyone liked Lisa See’s, The Island of Sea Women, and were in awe of these incredible women, their diving capabilities, and their adaptability—their costumes, diving while at near term pregnancy and post partum in Vladivostok. We were introduced to a totally unknown culture. The book was a big learn containing an immense amount of well researched information delivered in an authentic way.
One member commented that she was aware of abalone farming, but had never heard of the haenyeo. Another, who grew up knowing little of Korea or Vietnam, was very glad to have read this book. Another reflected on how this was another example of the deleterious effects of the territorial divisions made at the end of World War II. For most, there was the realization that the suppression of the stories of the Jeju uprising and subsequent killing and punishment of its veterans and sympathizers finds a parallel in the Canadian residential school stories. Additionally, there was fascination with Shamanism and its hundreds of female deities and the rituals for death, the Jeju islanders’ reconciliation process, and the question of betrayal and forgiveness.
The book made it clear that it was only at a superficial level that this was a matriarchal society. Owing to the specifics of taxes imposed by the Japanese on the Jeju Island fishery, women had become the fishers and prime breadwinners, and men the child minders. However, the responsibility for ancestor worship still resided with males, property was still owned by males and females were not educated.
Some liked the book format with present day events triggering a recounting of the past. There was a comment that the story was interesting but quite contrived. Another comment was that there was a repetitiousness and occasional patchiness in the quality of the narrative—bursts of imagery tagged onto rather pedantic passages—almost suggesting more than one author for the section.
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