Theres a 90-year-old woman who goes out for four hours every day and catches sea urchins with her hands.
Minutes later she was a speck bobbing in the sea, alongside a few other women.
Kim was likewise astonished by her first encounter with the haenyeo.
Photo: Hasisi Park/Courtesy Apple TV+
I was shook, Kim recalls.
They were yelling at each other but laughing too.
They were so bold and strong and vibrant.
Photo: Courtesy Apple TV+
I had never seen Korean women like that before.
The moment lingered in Kims mind for years.
This underwater girl gang was a revelation for me, she says.
Photo: Courtesy Apple TV+
I was fascinated by them and devoured anything about them I could get my hands on.
A decade later Kim had a realization.
I asked her, Where are all the younger haenyeo?
Director Sue Kim behind the scenes
She said, very bluntly, This is it.
Were the last generation.
Thats when I realized someone has to document them while theyre still here and can tell their own stories.
But first she had to overcome her subjects instinctive wariness.
Haenyeo communities are isolated and rural, and they dont naturally trust people, Kim explains.
Its not like everybody wanted to be part of this film.
But they were eventually intrigued that a filmmaker from abroad sought to share their story with the world.
The films stunning cinematography, particularly the underwater shots, showcases the women in their natural habitat.
On land the haenyeo move like older womenthey walk slowly or might have a hunch, Kim notes.
But the minute you see them in the water, a transformation happens.
Their superpower is their physical agility underwater.
I could see in the haenyeos body language that they were like, Whos this guy?
You could see the skepticism until we got in the water.
Only after they emerged could he come to the surface.
He can hold his breath for two or three minutes, Kim marvels.
Thats all he needed to prove himself to them.
The haenyeo could not stop talking about how great he was at holding his breath.
They started calling him haenam, or sea man.
They were like, Youre one of us.
In fact, the haenyeos stamina was one of the biggest challenges for the crew.
Its shockingly hard to keep up with them, Kim smiles.
(Most haenyeo rarely even venture to Jeju City, the islands largest city.)
After their premiere screening in Toronto, haenyeo Jang Soon Duk wasovercome with emotion.
She hadnt watched a film inside a theater since before she got married 50 years ago.
I dont think she understood that this was the kind of reception and platform she would get.
They gave me a new model of Korean womanhood.
Theyre so genuinely loving and caring and quite protective of each other.
Theyre very maternal and nurturing.
They also have a much softer side.
The crew experienced that caretaking impulse firsthand.
Feeding people is how Koreans show love, Kim says.
It was so cute, if very disruptive.
And that kindness and generosity is what Kim believes underpins their environmentalism and conservationism.
In the film Jang Soon Duk says, Its not about whats happening to the sea for uswere old.
We have to leave the ocean in a better condition for our children and grandchildren.
The Last of the Sea Womenpremieres on Apple TV+ on October 11.
