She is a haenyeo diving in Yeongrak ri, Daejeong eup, Jeju, and also works as an interpreter and translator. After graduating from haenyeo school in 2024, she knocked on the doors of several villages and is now part of the Yeongrak ri haenyeo community. As she learned to dive as a form of work, going farther and deeper beyond her fear and hesitation toward the sea, her decision to live as a haenyeo became clear. She says the work of a haenyeo is deeply personal, shaped by each diver’s breath and limits, yet always grounded in collective safety and responsibility, reflected in the rule that no one dives alone. Since becoming a haenyeo, she has worked as an interpreter on haenyeo related projects in collaboration with the Jeju Provincial Government’s Haenyeo Culture Division, and also served as an interpreter at the GIAHS certification ceremony held in Rome. She is now preparing an English language haenyeo podcast titled Haenyeo Hangout, exploring new ways to carry haenyeo stories farther into the world.

Born in Russia and now based in Jeju, she creates picture books as both a writer and illustrator. When she first encountered Jeju’s landscape, she began to wonder how she could faithfully capture the scenes before her, and that question opened a new direction in her work. After years of illustrating textbooks, she settled in Jeju with the desire to craft stories that unfold page by page in her own voice. Meeting the world of the haenyeo led her to observe the skills and presence of women who work in the sea, which grew into the Little Haenyeo series. The haenyeo she portrays are not symbolic figures but people shaped by real labor, real breath, and the passage of generations. Jeju’s light, wind, and terrain continue to offer subjects that return to her daily practice. She hopes to keep expanding Jeju’s stories in new forms and share them with readers in meaningful ways.

She bridges the original taste of cacao learned in Guatemala with the agricultural character of Jeju. The day her handmade chocolates and caramels sold out at Bellong Market, the intention to capture the essence of food in her products became unmistakable. Together with local merchants, she leads “Craft in Sehwa,” recording and expanding the village’s craftsmanship and culture in fresh ways. Through fair trade, she keeps practicing the value of connection, linking Korea and Guatemala, one family to another. Drawing on the care learned from raising five children, she hopes Jeju becomes a place where the next generation can grow their dreams, and she continues to build her brand with that belief.