The Last of the Sea Women

A documentary film about a group of female divers, most of them elderly, from South Korea. They dive without any kind of assistance to collect seafood.

It has all the basics you'd expect in these cases: interviews with different protagonists, basic information about how long this tradition has existed, how it continues today, etc.

You might find it more or less interesting overall; personally, it didn't catch my attention at all.

The main problem arises when they mention that this group has partnered with the United Nations, throw in some low-quality meetings about the Fukushima issue, and, finally, showcase the waste of taxes and the time politicians spend padding their agendas.

You're not missing anything by skipping this documentary.

Greetings again from the darkness. They consider themselves "the guardians of the sea". My guess is that most of us have never heard of the haenyeos, the women divers on Jeju Island in South Korea. Director Sue Kim introduces us to these remarkable women who are carrying on a tradition that dates back to the 14th century.

We learn the haenyeo practice sustainable seafood harvesting. They dive "with their own air", which means no air tanks - just their lungs. Their equipment is limited to a wetsuit, a hook, and a net basket. The underwater photography is spectacular and has us diving alongside these women who admit to disliking sea urchins, which require intensive labor to get to the good part. Director Kim dedicates separate segments to a few of the women, and what we immediately realize is that every haenyeo is a tough woman living a tough life.

What we also recognize is the passion, commitment, and camaraderie. Not only are they talented divers and fisherwomen, they have a community of respect and friendship. However, the picture is not all rosy. Their tradition is being threatened on many fronts. The divers have been pushed out to deeper water due to trash in the water. They have also noted a distinct shortage of sea life from their younger days, and attribute this to the warmer water from climate change. Beyond these threats, the women are facing generational differences. Most divers are in their 60's and 70's, and very few younger women care to carry on this tradition. The haenyeo numbers peaked in the 1960's with 30,000 divers, whereas now the count is fewer than 4000.

The most recent threat to the sea and the haenyeo comes from Japan and the proposal to dump nuclear wastewater from Fukushima into the sea to minimize radioactivity. The fear is the danger to all sea life for the foreseeable future. This threat inspired one of the elder divers, Soon Deok, to travel to Switzerland and deliver a personal statement to the Human Rights Council, followed by official protests.

In addition to the group of elderly divers, director Kim introduces a couple of thirty-somethings who have joined the haenyeos, and have utilized YouTube and TikTok to document the sea changes and generate some attention for the profession. Haenyeos have been recognized by UNESCO, and their work is as fascinating as the personalities of the women. However, the long list of threats cannot be overlooked, and perhaps the notoriety this film will bring can make a difference. One of the producers is renowned activist Malala Yousafzai and it's distributed by A24.

Releasing on Apple TV+ on October 11, 2024.

As with most people who take the time to watch this fascinating documentary, I knew nothing about "haenyeos" beforehand, but I learned a lot in just 90 minutes. Yes, it's challenging to summarize a tradition that began nearly 2,000 years ago in such a short timeframe, but I think the filmmakers did an excellent job. For me, the documentary provided a riveting introduction to a way of life that's on the verge of extinction due to a number of factors.

I especially enjoyed meeting the two younger haenyeos who not only share their "aunties'" passion for the profession, but may also be able to convince a younger generation to carry on the tradition.

Overall, The Last Of The Sea Women is an emotional, educational and beautifully filmed introduction to a group of amazing women whose story I truly enjoyed hearing.

I enjoyed the concept very much and it was fascinating to learn about these women, but I felt the narrative lacking a bit. Felt like there was an opportunity to say a lot more, and I found the attempt to tie it into existential circumstances in the last third was a bit forced and didn't totally land for me.

I would've been much more interested in learning about the women's personal lives and their families and their mental hurdles and struggles rather than the focus on relatively dry speeches at the UN and whatnot. But overall pretty solid and touching, and the women documented are nothing short of remarkable.

I wanted to hear more about their training to become divers, their lives, etc. Instead it just had footage of harvesting and told a little about the divers. Then it switched to protesting Japan's release of nuclear wastewater into the ocean. Not at all what I was interested in. I read about the sea women in a book that was more moving and interesting than this movie. Skip the movie, read the books about the hanyeo women. You will learn more and be pulled into their lives in a much more emotional way.

The book also talked about the unique adaptations of these women's bodies. Scientists studied them and their cold resistance and other unique abilities.