KOREA FOUNDATION

Have you ever heard the word sumbisori? It may sound unfamiliar, but you’ll find it if you flip through a Korean dictionary. It refers to the sound made by haenyeo, the famous female divers, as they gasp for air after surfacing from the sea. The haenyeo’s sumbisori recently traveled all the way from Korea to Northern Europe, in the form of an exhibition in Sweden. This is remarkable, given how far away Sweden is from Korea. The two countries are so distant that Koreans who run into each other on the streets of Sweden feel as if they’ve just met a friend, not a stranger. As there are no direct flights are available, travelers must fly more than 12 hours and take at least one connecting flight to get to Sweden from Korea.

   This year marks the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two nations. President Moon Jae-in paid a state visit to the Nordic country in June, and the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities of the National Museums of World Culture in Stockholm, which opened Sweden’s only Korean room with KF’s support in 2012, is is celebrating with an exhibition called Haenyeo—Women of the Sea. The exhibition, which opened in May and will continue through September, draws attention to haenyeo through photographs by Kim Hyung-sun, a documentary film entitled Mulsum (Breathing Underwater) by director Hee- young Ko, and various haenyeo-related objects donated by researcher Kim Soon-i. Swedish audiences saw parts of the show at an exhibition in Gothenburg last year, but a considerable portion of the material is now being displayed in Sweden for the very first time.

   Also on show will be photographs of haenyeo taken by Swedish zoologist Sten Bergman during his stay on Jeju Island from 1935 to 1936. The Swedish people, particularly those in Stockholm, will have an extra special opportunity to appreciate various aspects of haenyeo culture as a Jeju haenyeo choir will perform during the Korean Culture Festival in August.

   The ongoing exhibition does not focus on the tough and exhausting routines of the woman divers, who have spent their lives free-diving daily to depths of 10 meters or more. The greatest significance of the show lies instead in bringing to Europe a unique piece of Korean cultural heritage that is hard to find elsewhere in the world.

   Sometimes when we look at history and culture, we find unexpected commonalities between places or things that, on the surface, appear completely different. At first glance, Sweden, in Northern Europe, and Korea, in East Asia, seem to have many more differences than similarities. However, Sweden too has a maritime culture that has developed in unique ways, and offering Swedes a glimpse into the lives of the Jeju haenyeo as they take on the rugged seas is a cultural exchange sure to appeal to many. Viewers may feel awe as they encounter the Jeju haenyeo in Sweden, sensing the great wave that ultimately connects countless stories of two nations of people living on two different seas.

Written by Kim Shinyoung

Sweden sumbisoriHaenyeoExhibition