Netflix revives forgotten story of Jeju abalone divers

A child’s poem in the Netflix series When Life Gives You Tangerines has resonated deeply with viewers, shedding light on the hardships faced by Jeju Island’s women divers. In the poem Gaejeombok, a 9-year-old girl writes:

“Always jeombok, jeombok / Even in typhoons, jeombok, jeombok / More than a daughter, jeombok, jeombok... That wretched jeombok tormenting my eomeong / With the hundred hwan earned from selling jeombok / I wish to buy one day of my eomeong’s life.”

“Jeombok,” the Jeju dialect word for abalone, becomes more than seafood in the poem. It symbolizes a lifetime of labor and sacrifice, particularly among haenyeo, the island’s famed female divers. Their signature sumbi sori — a long, gasping breath after surfacing — echoes that struggle.

In the Joseon Dynasty, harvesting abalone for royal tribute was an ordeal. Former Jeju magistrates Yi Yeyeon and Gi Geon reportedly found the suffering of haenyeo so heartbreaking they refused to eat abalone. King Jeongjo, in the Hongjaejeonseo, wrote, “How can one desire to eat abalone knowing the toil it takes?”

The physical toll of diving was severe, and the tribute system only deepened the hardship. Magistrate Lee Hyeong-sang once reported that haenyeo were responsible for supplying seaweed and abalone year-round, writing, “Their suffering is tenfold that of my tasks. It is only natural that they risk their lives trying to escape.” Older or ill divers sometimes had to buy abalone from others to meet their quotas, revealing how coercive the system was.

Abalone from Jeju was a prized commodity in royal cuisine. King Sejong was reportedly served minced abalone by Crown Prince Munjong while suffering from eye disease. King Hyojong once urgently ordered abalone from Ulsan, prompting his adviser Song Si-yeol to caution against indulgence. During King Myeongjong’s reign, palace guards were punished for failing to prevent abalone theft.

I once spoke about the hardships of Joseon-era divers. An audience member asked whether abalone harvesting could really be that difficult, noting how easily celebrities seem to collect them on variety shows.

There are two possible explanations. First, harvesting may have become easier. Since 1970, when the Korea Institute of Marine Science and Technology Promotion succeeded in artificially hatching abalone, juvenile abalone have been seeded along the southern and eastern coasts, likely boosting stocks.

Second, some television scenes may be staged. On one program, a celebrity pulled several large abalone from a tidal pool — surprising, given that wild northern abalone typically live in waters deeper than five meters. The shells also didn’t resemble those of wild abalone. The scene may have been set up for entertainment.

Though abalone prices have dropped in recent years, the shellfish’s history is steeped in pain and resilience — a story brought back into focus by the voice of a child.