A Tribute to the Women of the Sea: Watermelon with Soy Bean Sauce

Samdado, the island of “three abundances”- wind, rocks and women- is another name for Jejudo, the largest island and honeymoon destination in South Korea. The women in the southern province are known to be beautiful and strong as haenyeo, female divers who collect sea products for a living. Although the number of the traditional “sea women (literal translation of haenyeo)” decreased drastically over the last several decades, they still represent the women of the island.

The ladies clad in black wetsuits are underwater for a long time without the help of oxygen tanks. They have larger lung capacity than average Koreans so it comes to no surprise that the mother of the nation’s Olympic gold medalist (Hwang Young Cho, Barcelona 1992 Summer Olympics) for marathon was a haenyeo.

Since the group of women spent most of their time working at sea, they didn’t have time to cook. So during summer especially, they consumed raw ingredients including fruits with soy bean paste. The following recipe is homage to the rustic simplicity of female diver’s table. This dish is sweet with a slight saltiness. Consume as an appetizer or as banchan (side-dish) like a traditional Jeju meal.

Ingredients

Serves 1

1 watermelon cube (flesh; 4cm)

1/10 teaspoon soy bean paste (literally a pinch)

1/4 teaspoon grated onion

Directions

1. Combine soy bean paste with grated onion.

2. Place watermelon cube on a plate. Put bean sauce on top of watermelon.

* Tip: Garnish with a slice of spring onion.