This paper is based on the author’s book, <The Jamnyo (Jeju women divers) of Korea, Neo-Confucianism and Dual Mythology> (2018). It was published in English and French verion by the Cultural Foundation Barbier-Mueller Museum in Geneva, Switzland. The particularity of the book is that it is the first of its kind that introduces in foreign language Jeju academic discourses (published since 1950’s, but not known outside of Korea)) on various topics, such as Jeju women divers, mythology, kinship system, shamanism and the influence of the Neo-confucianism on Jeju, imported from the mainland, combined with data collected among a divers' community in the small island of Udo, Jeju in 2016. This article presents two stances of the author regarding Jeju: (1) a feminist point of view on Jeju women divers and their contribution to Jeju society by presenting the island as a <women centred society>; (2) an activist point of view by presenting the history of Jeju and its people as a struggle against the centre by the periphery and dominated by different colonial powers over 1000 years. The article proposes jamnyo’s fireplace (bulteok) as a social model for healing.

This article is the narrative of Jeju people as a collectivity and of their quest for future directions. It is a story of a small island people, but at the same time, it is not unique to Jeju people, but applies to all humanity. There are many different visions and stories about what Jeju identity is and what its future should be. It appears that not one of the stories told by different groups can be left out, although they seem to compete with each other, and there are different audiences for different stories. I was very much moved and touched, when I learned about Jeju people’s narratives and quest and wanted to tell the story to the outside world. My story is that of an outsider.