The haenyeo or sea-diving mothers of Jeju Island are now living legends. Featured in countless television documentaries and recognised as intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO, they are mini-celebrities in South Korea and beyond. My first encounter with their legend was through a lullaby. Strapped to my mother’s back, I fell sleep as she sang me ‘Seomjib agi’ (Island Baby) accompanied by the police sirens of Brooklyn wailing in the night. It was the same lullaby her mother sang to her twenty-eight years before.

In the lullaby, a haenyeo must leave her newborn alone at home in order to provide for her family. She dives and harvests the ocean floor for oysters to sell. The wind and waves soothe the baby to sleep. But when the child’s mother hears the crying of seagulls, she grows startled and rushes back home.

• Tags: Esther Kim, Issue 20, Lisa See, Mary Lynn Bracht, South Korea