Anthropologist + historian JUNG SIN-JI

In this episode, Jung discusses her oral history project recording the stories of the grandmothers of Jeju. From an essay on aamora.com:

"For the last couple of years, I've taken photos and written essays of sweet grannies in my island home, Jeju-do, South Korea. Here, we call grannies 'Halmang' in Jeju dialect.

Most of them live alone in peaceful rural villages, set against the mountains and the ocean. Their kids left their old towns and ran away to the city. Their husbands have long passed away. Sadly, many grannies lost their beloved ones to the tragic Jeju 4:3 massacre (1948) and the Korean War (1950-1953).

In a Halmang's universe, time passes slower and smoother. Without speaking too many words, their stories spread like endless tree-rings; the stories as someone's lovely daughter, as some guy's beautiful woman, as some kid's strong mother, and also as everyone's sweet grandma."

She can be heard every Wednesday on Jeju's CBS 93.3 FM, and her oral history essays can be found at jejusori.net.

This interview was recorded in late November at the Seomun Market Global Festival in Jeju City.

Special thanks to local musician Ruth Minnikin for her performance at the festival.