The story of The Last of the Sea Women almost went untold – until director Sue Kim met Malala Yousafzai
Off the coast of Jeju Island, South Korea, groups of women in their 60s, 70s and 80s submerge themselves into the depths of the ocean every day to harvest seafood, without oxygen tanks.
These remarkable women are known as the haenyeo, free divers from a self-contained matriarchal community, and they are the subject of new documentary, The Last of the Sea Women.
Directed by filmmaker Sue Kim and produced by human rights activist Malala Yousafzai, the documentary details the dying ancestral tradition of the haenyeo, besieged from every angle by the unassailable forces of climate change, the reticence of younger generations to partake in such a dangerous occupation, and an environmental disaster that comes to the fore.
A child of Korean immigrants, Kim used to visit Korea often, which is how she came to know of the astonishing haenyeo.
“They were this super-cool, tough, strong, empowered community of women that really imprinted on me at a young age. I stayed fascinated with them as I got older,” she says.
Kim’s deep interest in the haenyeo was injected with a sense of urgency once she learned that the current generation was likely to be the last.
“What really propelled me to make this documentary is knowing they were a vanishing culture and that we might not have them for much longer,” she says.
“I felt compelled to try and document them while we still had them, while they could tell their own story in their own words.”
Director Sue Kim (top left) with Yousafzai (second from left) and two of the documentary’s subjects, Soon Deok Jang and Lee Hee Soon (bottom right). (Getty Images: Gareth Cattermole)
But the documentary almost didn’t get made. Tirelessly working across several years to find production companies and streamers to partner with, everything fell into place for Kim when she met Yousafzai. The Last of the Sea Women is the first feature to be produced by Yousafzai’s company Extracurricular.
“I started this production company to work with incredible directors and writers who would bring the perspectives of women that we don’t often see to the screen,” Yousafzai says.
“I was so surprised that I did not know about the haenyeo. It is so relevant, so important for women everywhere in the world to hear their voices, to connect with them, to know more about them.”
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An indomitable spirit
Haenyeo typically start training from as young as seven. Once they turn 17, they are fully fledged haenyeo, ready to take the plunge.
Having free-dived 10 metres below the ocean for the near entirety of their lives, the older haenyeo – the oldest of whom is 90 – have been dubbed mermaids. Often unsteady on land, they transform once their flippers hit the water, donning nothing more than diving helmets and wetsuits.
The haenyeo divers in The Last of the Sea Women range in age from their 30s to their 90s. (Supplied: Apple TV+)
“I really love their strength, their energy, their resilience and how they have more energy than anybody else, even at the age of 80 and 90 years old,” Yousafzai says.
Watching The Last of the Sea Women made Yousafzai question why women have been taught to “doubt themselves, underestimate themselves and [see] their bodies as weak”.
“When I think about what the haenyeo are capable of doing and how they do that for hours every day, I want girls watching to know they’re capable of doing anything – physically, intellectually.”
The irreversible effects of climate change
Everything the haenyeo do is steeped in a deep reverence for nature. The fact that they don’t wear oxygen tanks means they are sustainably harvesting the ocean without pillaging it. They care deeply about its regeneration — partly because it’s their only source of livelihood, partly because it’s a salve.
Haenyeo are akin to frontline workers in landscapes shifted irrevocably by the effects of climate change. They are noticing a dearth in the seafood they’re catching as global warming and rising temperatures affect the marine ecosystems they hold dear.
Haenyeo do not wear oxygen masks when they plunge into the depths of the ocean to forage for seafood. (Supplied: Apple TV+ )
Under Kim’s direction, this story about climate change unfolds in tandem with the story of the dying tradition of haenyeo.
“The haenyeo repeatedly told us how the ocean is dying,” Kim says.
“That was an unfortunate reality that came to the forefront. The haenyeo have been in the ocean every single day, year after year, for decades. They’re the ones who can bear witness to exactly how deep and significant the environmental damage is in the ocean.”
Activists unleashed
Halfway through the documentary, we learn about a controversial decision by the Japanese government to release treated radioactive wastewater from Fukushima into the ocean, not far from Jeju Island.
The haenyeo take up the cause and start organising and protesting against the decision, taking their collective action from Tokyo to Geneva, where diver Soon Deok Jang speaks before the UN about the detrimental effects the wastewater’s release will have.
The haenyeo divers’ sense of sisterhood and community struck Yousafzai. (Supplied: Apple TV+ )
“It reminded me how a person can become an activist at any age when they feel that they need to speak out for the protection of their community and their environment,” Yousafzai says.
“I really love the sense of sisterhood and unity among them, how they were connecting with human rights experts, environmental experts, young activists.”
Unused to missing even a day of work, the haenyeo take time off to protest against Japan’s decision.
“It gave me hope that, together, we can stand up and collectively advocate for a cause that we believe in,” Yousafzai says.
Live-streaming haenyeo
Kim started filming the haenyeo armed with a question: How do we preserve and protect our ancient cultures while reconciling them with the modern-day society we live in?
The lack of interest from younger generations in keeping the traditions alive is at the forefront of this. But this dilemma meets its beautiful antithesis in two 30-something haenyeo, Jin Sohee and Woo Jeongmin, who forage for seafood on Geoje Island while filming themselves on TikTok and YouTube.
Jin and Woo came to being haenyeo through reasons Kim calls “post-modern”: Jin wanted to exchange the life of an office drone for a job that allowed her to work in nature and incorporate physical fitness into her everyday life; Woo wanted flexibility as a working mum.
“The way that they found the haenyeo culture and then the way that they embraced it and progressed it further is a beautiful reflection of how we can all look at our ancient cultures and traditions and figure out how to integrate them into our daily lives,” Kim says.
Yousafzai hopes viewers walk away from the film with an understanding of the historic and cultural significance of haenyeo divers. (Supplied: Apple TV+ )
Parting words
For Yousafzai, this documentary delivers an important lesson to viewers about how matriarchal societies exist in harmony with one another and the environment.
Kim is hoping policymakers grasp the “real-world human cost” of their decisions, often brokered in sterile halls of power without any consideration for the communities they adversely affect.
“Marginalised communities are the ones most devastated by these sorts of reckless environmental decisions,” she says.
“I hope this lands with people – the true negative repercussions of decisions like this for people like the haenyeo, a hugely important historical community and culture.”
The Last of the Sea Women is streaming now on Apple TV+.
