'The Last of the Sea Women': Meet South Korea’s senior ‘mermaids’ fighting to protect the ocean

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Korean American filmmaker Sue Kim was only 8 when she first encountered Jeju Island’s centuries-old legends — Korea’s first female breadwinners who dive to great depths without oxygen tanks.

These women divers, or “haenyeo,” are known for their remarkable strength, autonomy and deep connection to the sea. Defying the country’s traditionally patriarchal society, the haenyeo have been diving for centuries, harvesting seaweed, abalone, octopus, conch, sea urchin and more.

While their origins are unclear, one theory suggests that in the 17th century, heavy taxes on men’s labor shifted economic responsibility to women, forcing them to find work in the sea. Another posits that women’s higher body fat allowed them to stay in the water longer. Over time, the haenyeo formed democratic collectives, passing down their diving skills and creating a lineage of empowered women. Starting their training as young as 10, the haenyeo would learn to dive up to 65 feet (19.8 meters) deep, navigating dangerous waters while holding their breath for several minutes.

“They were bold, brash and boisterously comfortable with who they were as they put on their gear,” Kim recalls. “They had been described to me as ‘Korea’s mermaids,’ but seeing them with my own eyes, I thought, these are not exactly mermaids. This is a badass girl-gang. They had such a vibe. They were so strong, they occupied their space so fully, and they were so completely unapologetic about who they were. I was instantly enamored.”

Trending on NextShark: 'The Last of the Sea Women': Meet South Korea’s senior ‘mermaids’ fighting to protect the ocean

Over the years, Kim witnessed how the haenyeo were both idealized and dismissed in a condescending way. But to Kim, the divers became her personal heroines and role models, inspiring her to embrace her own strength, passions and non-conformity without fearing judgment.

Kim went on to graduate from UC Berkeley, run an indie record label, work in advertising and create nonfiction films, such as the short “The Speed Cubers,” which garnered Critics Choice and Peabody Award nominations. Yet throughout her journey, the haenyeo were always on her mind — she read books about them and collected photos and videos.

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“When I was in my 30s, I started going to Jeju and talking to them in person and that’s when I realized there were so few younger women in the community. I remember talking to one 84-year-old diver who told me, ‘There is no one else to do this. It’s us or no one.’ And that’s when I decided I really needed to make a film, and soon, because this whole culture could be gone in 10 or 15 years.”

That film would later become “The Last of the Sea Women,” the first documentary feature from Pakistani female education activist and producer Malala Yousafzai’s company, Extracurricular Productions.

“We don't often see portraits of matriarchal societies in action, so that interested me a lot, and with the haenyeo’s deep connection to the sea, this story felt especially relevant to what is happening right now environmentally,” Yousafzai explains. “Since a main aim of Extracurricular is to allow young women directors to reflect the world as they see it, it felt like a great project to begin our slate. I really connected to the haenyeo, to their remarkable resilience and especially to their message of cooperation and friendship. People today so often feel disconnected from each other. The haenyeo remind us how vital a force community can be in our lives.”

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“The Last of the Sea Women” follows a group of “feisty grandmother warriors,” including Lee Hee Soon and Soon Deok Jang, waging a spirited battle against the vast oceanic threats. It dives into the haenyeo’s strong bonds, forged by the shared risks of diving and the support they offer each other through illness, injury and even pregnancy.

“I've been sort of obsessed with them from a very early age, but I will say, filming with them, I grew to understand so much more about the culture simply because we were embedded with them,” Kim says. “The first thing that I was just shocked by that I didn't see until I was actually filming with them was how incredibly physically agile they were. They are literally athletes. So even though they look like Korean aunties, grandmas and they're in their 60s, 70s and 80s, we could barely keep up with them.”

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Kim also found herself touched by the haenyeo's warmth and care, not just toward each other but also toward the film crew. They often broke the fourth wall by trying to feed the crew sea urchins, showing their love through food, a deeply ingrained gesture in many Asian cultures.

Although the haenyeo are not accustomed to being filmed, Kim was determined to let them — women who value freedom and independence above all else — set the rhythm of their own story. Her goal was to strip away stereotypes and allow the haenyeo to shine by telling their own stories on their own terms.

“When I first heard this was going to happen, I got worried,” Lee shares. “Haenyeo was looked down on and devalued, so we were kind of embarrassed when we were telling other people that our job is Haenyeo. But nowadays, this is our job we are very proud of. And, there is no other job like a haenyeo in the world. So when I heard that our job is going to be filmed, I was really happy because this is the opportunity for us to tell the world about our job. And then now, this is the kind of thing that we can pass onto the next generation.”

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“Now in the village, some of our old friends come to us and say, ‘Oh, you know what? I wish I became one,” Soon adds.

As the film progresses, the women’s stories take surprising twists. The haenyeo community became increasingly alarmed by the threat of Japan's plan to release treated radioactive wastewater from the 2011 Fukushima nuclear accident into the ocean. Having witnessed how fragile marine ecosystems are, the haenyeo felt a deep responsibility to protect the sea and grew involved in spontaneous protests. One pivotal moment in the film follows Soon as she prepares to travel thousands of miles to deliver a speech at the United Nations, advocating for the protection of the oceans. Soon, who had never left her village, shows her determination to represent her community, learning English to deliver the speech.

The sea, which the haenyo refer to as their second home, is under threat from climate change, pollution and overfishing, making their work increasingly dangerous. In the 1960s, over 30,000 haenyeo were actively diving off Jeju Island, but today, fewer than 4,000 remain, most of whom are now in their 60s to 90s.

“All through the documentary, I want the world to know what Jeju haenyeos are capable of,” Soon says. “And what we want to ask the world is that even though the government reports say that there's nothing wrong, in reality, contaminated water is being thrown into the ocean even though we may not be able to see it or feel it. I gave a speech at the U.N. in Switzerland asking Japan to stop contaminated water, but there's been no response to that.”

Soon urges global cooperation to find better solutions for disposing of contaminated water and calls for solidarity with the haenyeo to protect the ocean. She stresses that it’s not just a local issue as the whole world is affected by what happens to the ocean, noting that fishermen are already feeling the effects of rising water temperatures.

“With the whole world watching, there must be a way to dispose of contaminated water without throwing it out into the ocean,” Soon says. “The world needs to come together with Haenyeo to keep us alive.”

“The Last of the Sea Women” is now available on Apple TV+. Watch NextShark’s interview with Sue Kim, Soon Deok Jang and Lee Hee Soon below:

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