For Jaeyoun Kim, the ocean is more than a connection to family; it’s a path to healing. Patagonia Films’ Daughter of the Sea follows Jaeyoun, who leaves her island home in South Korea to pursue a more traditional career path in Seoul. But as her mental health begins to unravel and depression sets in, she decides to join the haenyeo, Jeju Island’s famed“women of the sea”. For centuries, these free divers and fisherwomen—some in their 80s—have dived more than 30 feet to gather seafood for their families and villages. Following in the footsteps of her mother and grandmother, Jaeyoun learns what it means to become a haenyeo and why returning to the ocean ultimately saves her.
