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FULL Haenyeo – The Women Divers (Hyun Suk-ju) Jeju 2019
Information on the Performance
- Work Title: Haenyeo - The Women Divers
- Composer: Hyun Suk-ju
- Libretto: Kim Sook-young
- Venue & Opera Company: Grand Theater, Seogwipo Arts Center, Jeju, South Korea
- Recorded: November 12, 2019
- Type: Concert Semi-staged
- Singers: Shim Mi-jin, Lee Kyung-mi, Kim Min-jung, Kim Dong-nyeok, Jeong Ho-jin
- Conductor: Heo Dae-sik
- Orchestra: Jeju Prime Philharmonic Orchestra
- Stage Director: Heo Bok-young
- Costume Designer:
Information about the Recording
- Published by: Kim Min-jeong
- Date Published: 2025
- Format: Streaming
- Quality Video: 4 Audio:4
- Subtitles: yessubs, gensubs, othersubs
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON THIS PERFORMANCE
The opera captures the harsh lives, joys and sorrows, and love of the female divers in <Haenyeo>. It embraces the suffering and the worth of life of the female divers who had to jump into the sea for various reasons, such as their children’s education and their family’s livelihood.
<Haenyeo> begins with the story of ‘Miju’, who lost her husband in Pyeongdae-ri, Jeju Island and is pregnant with her son ‘Hyeon-seok’ and her second child. Miju lives with the help of the haenyeo ‘Myeong-ja’ and ‘Jeong-suk’, but she can no longer receive their help and goes diving. Jeong-suk advises Miju to put more rocks in her belly belt as a way to fill up her subscription, and Miju puts more rocks in for her son. However, the belly belt gets caught in seaweed and Miju loses her life. 30 years later, Jeong-suk’s daughter ‘Seon-hee’ has grown into a social activist for Jeju and works to designate Jeju haenyeo as an intangible cultural heritage. She believes that this is the first step toward registering the haenyeo spirit with UNESCO, and that it is an action for her mother Jeong-suk and the deceased Miju, and furthermore, a movement for women’s rights. However, the eyes of those around her are not kind. People’s stares and harsh words are a huge obstacle for Seon-hee. In the midst of this, Myeong-ja tells her story, the story of Jeju haenyeo, in front of people, and the people shed tears.