“Today, don't be greedy and just come back with as much as your breath can hold.”
Introducing a very special picture book, "My Mom is a Haenyeo," which tells the story of three generations of haenyeo from Jeju.
This book emerged from a project that seemed almost impossible, but here it is: "My Mom is a Haenyeo." The combination of 'mom' and 'haenyeo' is truly Korean, and the title immediately draws attention. It tells both the story of a mother and the story of a haenyeo.
One day, we met director Ko Hee-young, known for her documentary [Mulsum], which captures the lives of the strongest haenyeo from Udo, Jeju. She expressed her desire to write a fairy tale about haenyeo, and once the text is complete, the illustrations will be done by the world-renowned Spanish artist Eva Almerson.
How did Eva Almerson, who enjoys immense popularity in Korea, come to know about haenyeo? She happened to see a magazine featuring them while staying at a hotel in Shanghai. For reasons unknown, she felt an urgent desire to visit Jeju and meet the haenyeo. In May 2016, she witnessed the haenyeo diving at a beach in Jeju, and her connection with director Ko Hee-young began when those images were featured in an interview with a local newspaper. Later that September, photographer Kim Hyung-sun, who took the photos Eva saw in Shanghai, joined them on a trip to Udo, where they closely observed the haenyeo's work and were invited into their homes to experience their daily lives as family.
Director Ko Hee-young's first fairy tale was beautiful. The story of three generations of haenyeo flowed like poetry with a coherent narrative, and the perspective from a child's viewpoint allowed readers to be free from any imposition of lessons or messages. The child, who always watches and waits for her haenyeo grandmother and mother, seems to resemble those of us who may know of haenyeo but do not truly understand them.
The sea is terrifying, yet the mother goes out to it every day. She holds her breath underwater and skillfully catches fish, abalone, seaweed, and octopus. “We hold our breath and come up to exhale. Hoooi~ Hoooi~ That’s the sound we make. It’s called the ‘submersion sound.’” The submersion sound signifies that the mother is alive. However, in her youth, she grew tired of the sea and left to work in a beauty salon on land. Yet, she became exhausted by the city noise and fell ill. Longing for the sea, she returned to Jeju. Thus, she became a haenyeo again. One day, she had a shocking experience while diving deeper for abalone and almost lost her breath. Her grandmother's words pulled her back: “The sea never allows human greed. If you are greedy underwater, you will lose your breath. The submersion sound will lead us to death.”
Even though they could harvest more seafood with better equipment, the haenyeo mothers carry their traditional tools. They plant abalone and conch seeds on the seabed but never catch baby abalone or baby conchs. “We remove all the starfish that devour the seafood. We cultivate the seabed beautifully, like our own flower garden. The promise of haenyeo is to stay only as long as our breath allows and take only what the sea gives.” Thus, the story goes, “Today, don't be greedy and just come back with as much as your breath can hold.”
Thanks to the collaboration between director Ko Hee-young's writing and Eva Almerson's illustrations, the translation of the text was entrusted to former SBS reporter Ahn Hyun-mo, who also provided the voiceover for [Mulsum]. Her meticulous efforts to convey not only sound symbolism but also the unique emotional nuances of Korea likely contributed to the greater energy of their collaboration. An English translation is included at the back of the book. Given the growing interest in 'haenyeo' in Europe compared to Korea, this literary text may provide some understanding, albeit limited, rather than an academic one.