The Mermaid from Jeju by Sumi Hahn is a magical tale with a dark edge set on Jeju Island in South Korea. This is the story of a young haenyeo called Junja, a Korean female diver or, according to this book, a mermaid.
The Mermaid from Jeju synopsis
In the aftermath of World War II, Goh Junja is a girl just coming into her own. She is the latest successful deep sea diver in a family of strong haenyeo. Confident she is a woman now, Junja urges her mother to allow her to make the Goh family’s annual trip to Mt. Halla, where they trade abalone and other sea delicacies for pork. Junja, a sea village girl, has never been to the mountains, where it smells like mushrooms and earth, and it is there she falls in love with a mountain boy Yang Suwol, who rescues her after a particularly harrowing journey. But when Junja returns one day later, it is just in time to see her mother take her last breath, beaten by the waves during a dive she was taking in Junja’s place.
Spiraling in grief, Junja sees her younger siblings sent to live with their estranged father, Suwol is gone, the ghost of her mother haunts their home–from the meticulously tended herb garden that has now begun to sprout weeds, to the field where their bed sheets are beaten. She has only her grandmother and herself. But the world moves on without Junja.
The political climate is perilous. Still reeling from Japan’s forced withdrawal from the peninsula, Korea is forced to accommodate the rapid establishment of US troops, and her grandmother, who lived through the Japanese invasion that led to Korea’s occupation understands the signs of danger all too well. When Suwol is arrested for working with and harboring communists, and the perils of post-WWII overtake her homelands, Junja must learn to navigate a tumultuous world unlike anything she’s ever known.
Book review
The Mermaid from Jeju is a work of historical fiction that reads like a fairy tale. Especially the first part of the book seems happy and carefree, like a light story for kids or teens. That soon changes when Junja’s mother dies and all kinds of events start to unfold. There is a reason Junja and her husband fled Korea after all.
This story is about a young haenyeo called Junja, a Korean female diver or, according to this book, a mermaid. Most of the story takes place in the 1940s after the war with Japan when American and Korean soldiers are ‘managing’ Jeju and searching for communists. By reading this book, you’ll learn a lot about Jeju’s cultural heritage, something it doesn’t share with the Korean mainland. Ideal if you are planning to visit Jeju Island. (You can see a diving demonstration by haenyeo at Seongsan Ilchulbong Peak on Jeju Island!)
Not every scene is from Junja’s perspective, so you don’t get to know her as well as you could have. Junja’s scheming grandmother on the other hand is a very interesting character; she and Lieutenant Lee were my favorites. Junja and Suwol are blander or maybe just younger. I also had a hard time believing Gun Joo’s love storyline; I can believe his feelings but not the girl’s. Or maybe I am simply longing for scenes with grandmother, because her character is written so well.
Overall I did enjoy the story, especially the part set in the past. At the end of the book, The Mermaid from Jeju loses some of its charm. It is a magical story (not just because of the dreams of the sea king and references to divinities) until Dr. Moon’s scenes become more prominent. I understand his role in the story, namely showing that the burden and pains of the past stay with you, but it was a less interesting storyline than the one of the past. The kut ritual didn’t add anything for me… the feelings of the living were described more strongly in other scenes. I would have loved for the past storyline to continue so that I could follow them to the mainland and later on to the USA.
So why did I give The Mermaid of Jeju four stars instead of three? Because of the magical fairy tale like prose. It takes a skilled writer to write a story with a magical vibe, without relying on actual magic use. It was just the right book for me. (Also: that feeling when you read the Korean glossary and you realize you know every term. Finally some recognition.)
Sumi Hahn was born in Korea and immigrated to the United States when she was one year old. The Mermaid from Jeju is her debut novel.
Interested?
Pre-order your copy of The Mermaid from Jeju from Amazon (available 8 December 2020).
Many thanks to Alcove Press and NetGalley for a digital ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
