Women who use free-diving techniques to retrieve shell are referred to as haenyeo. The images were taken by Ed Jones.
The Island of Sea Women is a novel that Joseph Jang thought should be made into a movie.
He said he fell in love with the book immediately. We had to make a screen adaptation of the story because it had to be seen. He bought a Korean translation of the novel after reading it in English. We contacted Lisa immediately after she fell in love with it.
The author of On Gold Mountain: The One-Hundred- Year Odyssey of My Chinese-American Family is an American. The Island of Sea Women is a novel about the friendship between two female divers on the island before and after the Korean War.
At a young age, such drivers would learn to dive up to 65 feet deep and hold their breath for over three minutes without diving equipment. They learn not to get caught underwater and not to breathe in the sea water. The life of a haenyeo was more dangerous after the Korean War when it was easier for girls to go to school. Nowadays, most of the divers are elderly and they work in the tourist industry.
There aren't a lot of haenyeos left who do free diving for a living. The entire family is dying out. I think it's important for the world to know about the amazing society that existed on this beautiful island.
UNESCO listed the haenyeo as an intangible cultural heritage of humanity in 2016 but it is anticipated that the culture will disappear within 10 years.
The island of sea women is a tale of resilience.
She said it would be great if the haenyeo culture could be brought to the world. The story of friendship, of love found, lost, and found again, with what will be exciting underwater as well as on land, is a great one.
The 4.3 incident, in which thousands of islanders were killed and many villages burned, was covered in See's book. For a long time, no one was allowed to talk about the incident.
You don't know much about Korean history unless you're studying it. It was shocking to me as a Korean American when I read it. The impact it had on the lives of these characters made it more vivid.
The Island of Sea Women is not the first English novel to be adapted for a small screen. The novel Pachinko by Min Jin Lee was the subject of a series by Apple. The production was held in New York, Tokyo and Busan. The Island of Sea Women is taking a more k-drama-centered approach.
The man said he loved Pachinko. It was a great show but we didn't feel like it was from Korea. We want our series to be similar to Korean dramas. Korean writers will be writing it. Korean dramas are very emotional and focused on the human condition. The characters that Lisa has built are so passionate and emotional, that we want to keep that in our story.
There will be a different format of the show. The multi-season series will be set on the island.
"We don't feel that one season will be enough to tell all of the stories involved in the book." When you have a novel as opposed to a series, there are different ways of telling it.
She was struck by his connection to the history and matrifocal culture of the haenyeo.
The haenyeo have inspired Young Sook Lee and Joseph in the same way that they inspired me. The divers have a lot of courage and resilience. They have gotten through Japanese occupation, war, and other upheavals thanks to these characteristics. Many upheavals have taken place in the past couple of years. The haenyeo can be an inspiration to people around the world.
There are new opportunities for Korean storytellers and for an independent production company that works with major Korean networks.
The show is in post production, and it was shot with a streaming service. It was a big deal that our show was the second biggest budget show from the streaming service. With Korean dramas becoming a global trend, it gives us an opportunity to place ourselves on the global radar.
The Island of Sea Women has been translated into 16 different tongues.
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