The Island of Sea Women

“The sumbisori is the special sound—like a whistle or a dolphin’s call—a haenyeo makes as she breaches the surface of the sea and releases the air she’s held in her lungs, followed by a deep intake of breath.” 

The precise definition of a sumbisori indicates how important it is to haenyeo culture. It is distinct to each diver, making them recognizable when they surface. The comparison to a dolphin also indicates the organic connection between the women divers and the sea. 

“Every woman who enters the sea carries a coffin on her back […] In this world, in the undersea world, we tow the burdens of a hard life. We are crossing between life and death every day.” 

Young-sook’s mother cautions her dive team about the ocean. Given the lyrical descriptions of marine beauty that the book contains, the characters all recognize the sea’s dangers as well as its glory. The tragedies that befall the haenyeo over the course of the story show what can happen to the unwary or the unlucky. 

“No one picks a friend for us; we come together by choice. We are not tied together through ceremony or the responsibility to create a son; we tie ourselves together through moments.” 

Young-sook’s comment about friendship will become prophetic by the end of the book. She and Mi-ja spend years capturing moments in their charcoal rubbings. It’s only when Young-sook sees these mementos again after an interval of decades that she reconnects to her friend emotionally.