I was born in a port city in China across from the South Korean city of Incheon, separated by the sea. As a child, I saw many women embark on a journey across the ocean, driven by their unshakable determination to earn a better wage in Korea and escape the anxiety they faced in their hometown. Many of them never returned. To some, their disappearance seemed gratuitous, but I soon inferred it must have been a conscious choice they made after enduring repression of their dreams and desires. As a young girl, I often wondered about their adventures in an unknown land, even feeling a yearning for their journey.

As I grew up, started working, and got married, I noticed changes in the way women were positioning themselves in the world. Although it seemed like women had more say in various aspects of life, they were still subject to condescending scrutiny. Our attempts at freedom were pre-approved and pre- tolerated by the ghost of an unseen power.

This new plight fueled the rekindling of my imagination of those women’s adventures. I hope to revisit their unshakable determination with this story and find the courage to face the faceless ghost.