Squid Game, Sea Women, and the Japanese Gardens
This is as close as I can get to moving to Asia right now.
I've been having a recent conversation about possibly spending a year abroad in Asia. It would be a huge life change, though just temporarily, and would require a lot to set up, but still it's on my mind as a possibility for a life move. It sounds scary, but also like something I've always wanted to do!
I always meant to study abroad when I was in undergrad, but financial fears kept me from taking the leap. I've accepted that it didn't happen then, but now as an adult, I start to think about the things I would be sad and regretful to never do. It's still a little ways off before something like that could happen, but I'm also trying to bring it up more to bring that manifestation energy forward. So I think in some ways, that kind of influenced some of my TV this week and my first experience in the Portland Japanese Gardens.
What I’m Watching
Squid Game (Netflix)
I had put off watching Squid Game because when it came out in 2021, I was going through it--deep in therapy and deep in covid, it would have been too much for me I think. Luckily, my husband convinced me to watch it now (I'm better equipped mentally and emotionally) as the second season approaches this December. I knew the general premise of the show, and by now there were so many people that had talked about it, I wondered if it would be something that felt overrated to me, too popular that my expectations would be too high and I wouldn't enjoy it. But actually, it was incredible? Amazing? All around a fantastic show.
I think what I love most about it is that there is just so much to talk about. It is such an interesting reflection on humans. What we're willing to do for money, what our character says about us, what friendship is. You will leave this show with so much to think about. I also think this is one of the evilest mf villains I've ever met. A truly vile person, and all who surround this villain, equally awful and disgusting! This show really did make me sick a few times.
I only have a couple critiques about Squid Game. I did feel like it took me two solid episodes to get into it, but also for it to find its rhythm. I felt those first two episodes had some pretty corny moments. There were also a couple subplots that I felt could have been stronger or left out altogether (which I found out some really were added after the creation of the original story but came into existence once they realized they could add more). Truly at the end though, it was fantastic, sickening, shocking, and so demonstrative of humans.
Additionally, I thought the acting and characters were incredible. Kim Joo-ryung who plays Han Mi-nyeo is the most unhinged, entertaining, and vengeful woman in the very best way. She was probably my favorite character, but so many excellent characters and fantastic development that it is hard to choose just one.
I'm looking forward to season 2 and I hope that it can live up to an incredible first season.
Outside of the fictional South Korean Squid Game world, I took a dive into another very real part of South Korea.
The Last of the Sea Women (Apple TV+)
The Last of the Sea Women follows the female divers, called haenyeos, of Jeju Island (also mentioned in Squid Game!) and Geoje Island in South Korea. These women, the majority are 60+, dive into the sea daily to harvest seafood. Most have been doing this for decades. This documentary follows some of their stories.
In just 90 minutes, I think I fell in love with the hardworking haenyeo and the lives that they lead. It is a tough life, not just physically demanding but also because they are directly impacted by climate change. They see first hand the changes to the ocean, especially since they have been working in the same areas for 50+ years. The documentary also covers a bit of the Fukushima nuclear disaster, which was the first I'd really heard of it. One of the consequences of this disaster is that there is a lot of radioactive waste water at the plant. Unfortunately this is difficult to store as it has been quickly degrading the containers that hold the water. As a result, the Japanese government decided to start releasing the radioactive water in the ocean which they claim is ok, with minimal impact as the ocean will dilute it. You can imagine that the Sea Women were not enthusiastic about this decision, so we followed them a bit in their protests and even as one woman traveled to Sweden to speak on their behalf to the UN. It's quite powerful to watch.
The other parts of the documentary follow the women as they work, discussing how they live their lives as divers. It's a tight community that we see. They seem to have known each other for a long time. But it's not common to have many younger people deciding to do this work. However, we do get to see two younger divers, in their 30s, meet with the older women and it's fun and beautiful. It's funny, too, to watch the differences. The younger two have a TikTok and Youtube documenting their own journeys as haenyeos.
One last thing I found particularly interesting about the work of haenyeos: it actually started as a man's job, and as they describe it, became a job for women when the men found it too hard to keep doing. Sounds like a familiar story…
I don't watch many documentaries, but this one is special and worth a watch!
What I’m Doing: Portland Japanese Gardens
To wrap up the week, we had tickets from my library that offers a free cultural pass to explore the Portland Japanese Gardens. It's one of those things that we've always lived by but never actually visited. It was absolutely perfect fall weather, not too crowded, and a beautiful way to spend a Sunday afternoon. It was surprisingly not loud for being in Portland and with a good amount of people. There's koi, a waterfall, and even some Japanese architecture. It made me miss Japan deeply.
Highly recommend visiting if you have the chance.
What I’m Reading
I am nearly finished with Donna Tartt's The Secret History and I'm super excited to talk about it more in next week's weekly, so be sure to subscribe!
If you made it this far, thank you so much! I appreciate your interest and hope you'll subscribe to keep following along. Later this week I decide to keep this theme going a bit while I talk about a restaurant that has meant a lot to me over the years.