South Korea's 'Sea Women' Seek Justice After Harbor Work Devastates Marine Habitat

South Korea's 'sea women' seek justice after marine habitat devastated by harbor work. GUMAN-RI, South Korea — This fishing village, on the eastern coast of the Korean Peninsula, is filled with scars. Every summer, typhoons rumble in from the Pacific Ocean to snap trees and flip fishing boats.

Huge ships, including a 4,000-ton cargo vessel in 2005, have sunk or run aground on the rocky coast, sullying marine food sources. In the 1950-1953 Korean War, dozens of villagers were massacred. But their latest setback has stupefied them.

In 2021, South Korean construction giant Ssangyong Engineering & Construction Co. began work to expand and repair the breakwaters at the local harbor. Since then, the surrounding marine habitat has slowly withered away.

By early 2025, the lush seabed had become a graveyard for dead marine plants and animals. Guman-ri, a fishing village on the eastern coast of South Korea, on Aug. 16, 2026. Image by Andrew Jeong for Mongabay.