Haemi

by Oliwia In

A young woman named Haemi is one of haenyeo of Korean Jeju Island who harvest seafood for a living. Her profession that once supported thousands of women and their families, is now at risk of becoming extinct. So, her biggest goal is to keep the tradition of her mother and grandmother alive and make tourists aware of marine pollution. At the same time, at night, she dreams about a mysterious pearl that keeps disappearing.

One day Haemi meets Minho, a handsome young man taking a break from the elite life he led in Seoul. Will Haemi help him find his purpose in life, without losing her own?




The book "Haemi" is about following your heart, not giving up on dreams, it reminds us of the goals we have set for ourselves and the choices we made, which can keep us awake at night. From the book you will not only learn about the island of Jeju and the haenyeo profession, but also more broadly about Korean culture - its customs, dishes, local cuisine, dialects, etc.

281 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 1, 2023

Reviews

[Aleksandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Przepięknie napisana książka! Bije od niej spokój i jakaś taka mądrość życiowa. Książki, które w taki sposób opisują morza i oceany, zawsze są bliskie memu sercu bo sama od zawsze wolałam wodę od lądu.

Bardzo polubiłam główną bohaterkę i jej babcię, ale to jak zachował się w pewnym monencie Minho bardzo mnie do niego zniechęciło. Nie sądzę, że byłabym tak wyrozumiała jak Hemi, żeby powitać go z otwartymi ramionami...

Dodatkowym plusem są przypisy wyjaśniające kulturowe pojęcia z Korei, co znacznie ułatwiło odnalezienie się w książce, bez konieczności zaglądania co chwila do internetu.

[Ceana Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

certainly interesting. a lot of emotional support needed and sought throughout duration of reading this book (thanks emily).
spoiler: don’t lose your fucken mind upon reading the following phrases:
- “tee-hee”
-“omg. oh my god. O-M-G.”

[Marzipantorte · Rating 2 out of 5]

Please, by God, don't teach girls that they deserve men who act like their feelings are worth zero. :')

Here's a thing, I respect the authors attempt at promoting haenyo culture (woman divers in Jeju, Korea) and also being kinda badass, moving to jeju, starting her own publishing company, etc, but I have very mixed feelings about what I just read. Let me dive in

This book was WILD, the translation is pretty bad which I wouldn't have minded but the love story was very conservative and seemed predictable. And then the last third got damn dramatic, it was so bad, it was kind of entertaining.

(main spoilers ahead) The male love interest started out ok and left flying major red flags, he fucking killed it in the last third. The guy leaves one girl, meets his ex, PROPOSES to the ex, then drops the ex again, gets back together with first girl, marries her and no one bats an eye???? bro. We can't teach young girls that 'love' is men dumping them unannounced to propose to someone else. Neither of the women characters deserved to be treated like that and everyone acted like nothing happened. Where was Haemis anger?? Where was the respect?? That she is written in the way that she doesn't care one bit about him proposing to his ex and then marrying her right after, is what i can't forgive. What love is that?

There were parts I enjoyed though, most of all that the book offered a good knowledge of jeju and haenyo culture and I learned a lot! I loved the character of the grandma and there were some nice moments about following passion vs. rationality and fast vs slow life. Haemis she's-not-like-other-girls-wisdom also did make me think about living more compassionately, so that was fine.

However plot points like injury, or heartattacks were set so calculatedly into the story to give the characters what the author wanted them to have, that i found it hard to take the plot seriously.

I'm not sure how I feel about the heanyo being constantly referred to as mermaid, maybe this form of glamorising is a good thing because I do support Oliwia In in wanting to advertise the heanyo tradition for young people (since it's a practice that's practically dying out), it just also seemed somewhat inappropriate to haenyo culture considering the grit of these women, the traumas of jeju and the hardships of the sea (apart from the introduction scene that wasn't seriously addressed), but this seems a nuanced thing. Maybe some or a lot of the haenyo will love it specifically because of that? I'm hoping hard the author talked with haenyo about her book so it's probably fine, Just felt very strange to read after The Island of Sea Women addressed the massacres on Jeju in the 4-3 events and everything the island and its (diving) women have been through.

[Penelope · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nice easy read

This was a lovely easy read about a culture and especially an occupation that I find fascinating. Having been introduced to it all through kdramas I've searched out fiction and non fiction to immerse myself further into this way of life.

[Hanna · Rating 1 out of 5]

1,5 🙈

[datewithbook · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sympatyczny romans z pięknym widoczkiem w tle. Fajnie było się trochę przyjrzeć kulturze azjatyckiej, z którą ja nie stykam się na co dzień. Do połknięcia w kilka słonecznych dni :)

[˗ˏˋ n o v i ˎˊ˗ · Rating 3 out of 5]

was pretty cute but not too gripping, ending was too rushed for me too, but it really made me want to go back to jeju!

[andy ˙ᵕ˙ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. it was okay.

hated how Minho behaved towards the end and how he was just willing to throw everything he built with Haemi so easily. glad it all worked out in the end but still.