The Island of Sea Women by Lisa See, set in Jeju in South Korea

 South Korea Setting

The Island of Sea Women  by Lisa See

Published March 5, 2019; Scribner

Genre: historical fiction, literary fiction, South Korea

Description: a novel of female friendship and devastating family secrets on the small Korean island of Jeju. Mi-ja and Young-sook, two girls living on the Korean island of Jeju, are best friends who come from very different backgrounds. 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. 

As the girls take up their positions as baby divers, they know they are beginning a life of excitement and responsibility—but also danger. Despite their love for each other, Mi-ja and Young-sook find it impossible to ignore their differences. The novel covers several generations.

Korean dramas filmed on Jeju - Netflix 

I've been enjoying several Korean dramas set on the lovely island of Jeju, the setting of Lisa See's historical novel. and a place popular with tourists

"Welcome to Samdal-ri"

Female divers washing their nets

 
Chief diver - Photos - Netflix 

"Welcome to Samdal-ri" was partly inspired by Lisa See's novel. though the plots are not the exact same. 

Cho Yong-Pil, a weather forecaster in Jeju island, and Cho Sam-Dal grew up in Samdal-ri.  Both their mothers were very close friends and divers for conch and abalone. However, after Yong-Pil's mother died in a diving accident, the two young people were forced apart and Sam-Dal  left the island to live in Seoul. 

They meet again on Jeju after many years and begin a romance, with much family drama ensuing because of what had happened to Yong-Pil's mother in the past. This Korean drama was released in December 2023. 

"Our Blues"

Jeju coast
Photos- Netflix

"Our Blues" tells interlocking stories of Jeju island residents - happy, sad, heartwarming, revealing looks at various people, couples, female divers, and families, all of whom know each other as they live on small, beautiful Jeju Island. The series began airing on Netflix in 2022.  

Other Netflix dramas (partly) set on Jeju:

1. When Life Gives You Tangerines (to be released later this year)
2. Boys over Flowers
3. Something in the Rain

 I know I'll be watching many of these as I'm hooked on the island setting, the stories of families and romance, the food, the novelty, for me, of female divers, the woods and the mountain, the seascape. I also have gotten accustomed to hearing Korean, and I enjoy the cadences and sounds. Of course I watch the dramas with closed captioning in English.

What are you reading/watching this week? 

Memes: The Sunday Post hosted by The Caffeinated Bookreviewer. Also, It's Monday: What Are You Reading, and Sunday Salon, Stacking the Shelves, Mailbox Monday