Bestselling Author Lisa See On the Remarkable Sea Women of Jeju Island

Lisa See and Yun Mija, one of the haenyeo (sea women) of Jeju Island, South Korea, /Photo: Courtesy Lisa See — Lisa See and Yun Mija, one of the sea women of Jeju Island, South Korea /Photo: Courtesy Lisa See

By Stacey Gualandi/May 30, 2019

Don’t miss my BRAND NEW interview on The Women’s Eye with New York Times bestselling author Lisa See. Her newest novel The Island of Sea Women has already been honored as an “Indie Next pick” by Independent booksellers, and Barnes & Noble chose the novel for its nationwide March 2019 Book Club.

See is currently on a very busy national tour promoting The Island of Sea Women, the story of a lifelong relationship between two best girlfriends set against the real-life backdrop of the little-known free-diving women of South Korea’s Jeju Island.

See’s eleventh book is a close examination of the female bond and forgiveness on a personal level. She says the theme of forgiveness truly “permeates the entire book.”

“I have been so touched on this tour by how far people have come to hear me,” says See.

“I think it’s because I am writing about women in a way … that people can really connect their own lives to these fictional characters. They think about, ‘What would I do in that situation?’”

Lisa See has been a good friend to The Women’s Eye since 2011 when she first joined me to talk about for her #1 novel Dreams of Joy. More recently, she was kind enough to write a quote for the cover of our book 20 Women Changemakers.

Needless to say, it was our pleasure to have See back to talk about her latest work of historical fiction.

Lisa on her trip to visit the sea women, Jeju Island/Photo Courtesy: Lisa See

See says she spent eight years writing and doing extensive research for this historical novel. She even visited the island and witnessed first-hand the elderly women who are still diving to harvest seaweed – all while holding their breath for up to three minutes at a time.

“I wanted to capture it while I still could,” says See of the hundreds-of-years-long tradition that could die out in 15 years.

Be sure to listen to our interview to find out why See prefers fiction (“there is an emotional connection that I don’t get with non-fiction”), why she writes the book’s last line first, and how many years she has been working on her next book (26!). Then read The Island of Sea Women! (And yes, she still types using only three fingers!)