The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea

For generations, Mina’s homeland has faced destructive storms that have destroyed the land. In the hopes of stopping the destruction, a young woman is chosen to be the Sea God’s bride and thrown into the sea as a sacrifice to him. This year, Mina’s brother’s lover, Shim Cheong, is chosen. But before Cheong can be thrown into the ocean, Mina jumps in her place. She’s willing to sacrifice herself to protect her brother and his love, her family, and her home.

After jumping, Mina finds herself in the Spirit Realm, where a Red String of Fate binds her to the Sea God. . . who’s asleep. Worse, she encounters mysterious attackers who seek to disrupt her connection to the Sea God. They steal her soul, the very thing she needs to save her home, as it is what binds her to the Sea God. Despite being lost in a world she doesn’t understand, and facing visible and hidden foes, Mina sets out to save the Sea God, her community, and herself. It’s a race against time because she only has 30 days before she succumbs to the Spirit Realm.

Mina navigates the unfamiliar realm with the help of spirits, landing herself in the perfect place to regain her soul—and hopefully her connection to the Sea God. But in a twist of fate, she finds herself instead bound to Shin, one of the very people who severed her connection with the Sea God. Mina becomes his bride instead of the Sea God’s, once again pushing her further from her goal of saving her home. As she looks for a way back to the Sea God, adversaries—powerful spirits and even a goddess—are hunting her in an effort to gain power. And yet another opposition arises, this time from within herself, as Mina realizes that she is falling in love with Shin. Can Mina escape the clutches of those hunting her? Will she be able to reunite with the Sea God before it’s too late? And will Mina have to sacrifice what she loves to save her people?

Mina is a bright teenage girl with a strong will and a big heart, resulting in youthful passion and emotionally driven recklessness. A coward she is not. She describes herself as “stubborn,” and that’s not a bad thing, rather a manifestation of her love and fierce determination to help others and do what’s right. She’s deeply sympathetic and selfless, quick to help others at the expense of her own well-being. Mina is also not afraid to admit that she’s not perfect and that she can be wrong, which really contributes to her strength and likability as a character. Yes, she has her moments of immaturity, but her behavior makes sense given that she’s carrying a heavy burden and has just been dumped into a brand-new world.

Mina is backed by a slew of great side characters, including cheeky and clever spirits, as well as Shin and his guards, Namgi and Kirin. Namgi and Kirin are opposites of each other—Namgi is humorous while Kirin is stoic—and, as a result, they serve as two different kinds of guides to help Mina on her journey. Shin works as an excellent counterpart and love interest, as he is apathetic to the human world Mina is working so hard to protect, but he shares the values of love and duty that Mina embodies. His mysterious backstory unravels throughout the narrative, adding complications to the tale. Their love story—working like a gentle enemies-to-lovers relationship—intertwines with the characters’s progressions and the book’s lessons.

The Korean mythology on which the book is based creates the endlessly intriguing, immersive, and stunning setting of the Spirit Realm. Readers experience the world like Mina does—with a bewildered awe. The action scenes are an energetic rush that help break up some of the slower scenes, and a number of well-placed twists successfully keep readers on their toes without overwhelming them.

The narrative is full of heart, coming not just from the soft romance but also from Mina’s personality and her interactions with all the characters. There are certainly elements of the world and certain character backstories (especially Kirin’s and Namgi’s) that feel underdeveloped and warrant more expansion. Many details about the world and the characters are introduced but not followed up on, leaving readers with outstanding questions, which can be frustrating. There were also plot points and events that felt slightly repetitive, with sometimes too much back-and-forth between certain settings and characters.

Oh’s tale is an ocean of messages and lessons, addressing the relationship between people and gods, the power of belief, balancing duty to others versus individual desires, sacrifice and honor, and the importance of making decisions for oneself. Mina says early on, “I am the maker of my own destiny,” and that idea is carried through the rest of the story despite the pressures working against that very notion. The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea submerges readers in a charming, heart-filled tale that, despite minor flaws, shares powerful messages while delighting readers with a collection of curious characters and introducing them to the magical world of Korean mythology.

Sexual Content

• Mina and Shin are having a heartfelt conversation that includes flickers of romance and handholding. “Shin’s breath catches. My heart begins to beat painfully in my chest. . . he slips his hand over mine, the pebble pressed between our palms, holding tight.”
• To comfort her after a time of distress, Shin acts romantically towards Mina. “Shin lightly brushes back the wisps of hair that have escaped the tangle of my braid, clinging to my forehead and cheeks. The gentleness of his touch almost undoes the fragile walls I’ve built around my heart.”
• Mina and Shin cuddle together in bed. “. . . He’s reaching for me, and I go to him, his arms circling around me. His breath whispers against my neck as he pulls me close.”
• Mina sees Namgi “flirting with a boy in the crowd.”
• Mina kisses Shin. “I lean forward, holding his shoulders for balance, and press a kiss to his lips.” Shin responds by kissing Mina back. “He takes my hand, pulling me forward until I’m in his arms, and then I’m kissing him. . . I throw my arms around his neck, returning each of his kisses with equal fervor.”
• When Mina’s brother Joon reunites with his partner Shim Cheong, they kiss. “Joon gathers Cheong to him, kissing her soundly.”

Violence

• One of the book’s core events is the sacrifice of a woman to the Sea God by throwing her into the ocean, where she’ll die by drowning. In a flashback, Mina and a woman preparing to be sacrificed discuss the deadly tradition. “There are even girls who truly believe all of this is real, and that they won’t drown, but will be saved by the Sea God.”
• Shin fights off and kills intruders in a bloody fight to protect Mina. “[Shin] grabs the shoulder of the other thief, stabbing him through the stomach; [the thief] slumps to the floor.” This scene lasts two pages. Shin’s arm is wounded in the fight.
• Mina burns her hand in a hearth. “My hand rips through the flames. A terrible sound comes from my throat, an agonized cry.”
• Kirin cuts his hand to heal Mina’s burns with his magic blood. “With a quick motion, he makes a deep cut across his palm. Blood the color of starlight oozes from the wound.”
• Lord Yu, the leader of Crane house (a rival house of Shin’s Lotus House), aggressively handles Mina because he wants to kill her, which, through the mechanics of the Red String of Fate, would also kill Shin. “Suddenly he lashes out, grabbing my wrist. I try to pull away but his grip is vise-like.” This results in a “great bruise” on Mina’s arm.
• A hoard of Imugi, large, serpent-like creatures, attack Mina and the marketplace she’s in. Namgi transforms into an Imugi and battles the other Imugi, while two assassins hunt Mina, one of whom tries to strangle her. She has to fight them off with Mask and Dai, who are child spirits she befriended on her way to retrieve her soul, using daggers and firecrackers. “Arms wrap around my neck, hauling me off the ground. . . I struggle to breathe, my arms weakening, my vision blackening at the edges.” Mina kills one of the assassins and suffers minor injuries. Dai is severely injured, but lives. This scene lasts nine pages.
• An assassin shoots Mina with a bow. “The bolt pierces my shoulder. I scream in pain. . . Blood pools beneath me.” She goes unconscious, but lives. This scene lasts two pages.
• Another Imugi attack occurs, and Shin’s friend, Kirin, kills an Imugi to protect Mina. At the same time, Namgi fights off other Imugi. “[Kirin] unsheathes his sword and plunges the blade into the snake’s neck. . . the snake’s body begins to writhe in its death throes, spewing blood and venom.” Namgi is very injured and nearly dies but ends up recovering. This scene lasts four pages.
• In a memory, Mina sees the Sea God get shot with an arrow and almost die. “The arrow pierces the Sea God’s chest. . . The arrowhead protrudes from his back, soaked in blood.” This scene lasts two pages.

Drugs and Alcohol

• Namgi asks Mina for more “wine-spirits.” He is clearly drunk, as he slurs his words. A guard says Namgi is drunk.
• Lord Yu offers Mina “wine-spirits,” which she drinks. “He lifts the bottle and pours some of the golden liquid into a cup. . . The liquor tastes bitter in my mouth.”
• Namgi offers Mina alcohol to ease the pain from an injury. “‘What about a drink?’ Namgi suggests. ‘Liquor helps with the pain.’” Mina drinks the alcohol.

Language

• Curse words are not used, though characters are occasionally said to be cursing. For example, Mina says, “inwardly, I curse.” She later describes, “Shin curses beneath his breath.”

Supernatural

• This book takes place in the Korean Spirit Realm, so it is inherently magical, featuring many creatures from Korean legends.
• The “servant” of the Sea God is “a massive, silver-blue dragon” that appears numerous times.
• A core element of this book is the mythical “Red String of Fate,” a red ribbon tied between the hands of two people that’s only visible in the Spirit Realm. “The Red String of Fate ties a person to her destiny. Some even believe that it ties you to the one person your heart desires most.”
• The Sea God’s city features many magical qualities. “Brightly colored fish swim along the breeze, as if the sky were an ocean. Whales like clouds float lazily overhead. And in the distance, the dragon slips through the air.”
• When Mina’s attackers die, their bodies dissolve. “The bodies of the thieves begin to fade, smoke swirling after them. After a few minutes, all that’s left are piles of empty clothing and discarded weapons.”
• The Imugi are first introduced when they interrupt a party. Imugi are “snakelike creatures, as large as dragons, but without horns or limbs. They blend with the sky in colors of deep red, indigo, and black” and can switch between humanoid and snake form.
• Mina meets a “fox demon” who appears as “a white fox” with a “tail split in two.” Fox demons, according to legend, are “evil spirits that prey solely upon men.” This fox demon possesses a priestess to speak through her.
• Kirin is a creature referred to as “the Silver One.” He has magic blood with the ability to heal wounds, and he can turn into a “four-legged beast with two horns and a mane of white fire. It has the shape, body, and legs of a deer, but the height and strength of a horse.” In this form, he can walk on water.
• The “River of Souls” is a river filled with human souls rushing from the mortal plane to the Spirit Realm or the afterlife.
• The Goddess of Moon and Memory rides on “what looks like a horse but with hooves of fire.”

Spiritual Content

• Gods are a central part of the plot, worldbuilding, and even the book’s themes. They are mentioned frequently and appear numerous times.
• The book revolves around the Sea God, the god of the seas and ruler of the Spirit Realm and all other gods. He ravages the human world every year with destructive storms because he is consumed by anger. When Mina first meets him, she discovers him “slumped over the throne, his face shadowed by a magnificent crown. . . dressed in beautiful blue robes, stitched silver dragons climbing up the fabric.”
• Mina describes the existence and functionality of the gods. “The world is filled with small gods, for each part of nature has a guardian to watch over and protect it.”
• Mina’s soul is taken out of her body and turned into a magpie. Namgi explains, “When Shin severed the Red String of Fate, it took your soul.”
• Shin discusses the functionality of souls. “Every being has a soul, whether it’s hidden inside you, as it is for humans, or in a different form, as it is for beasts of myth. Gods also have souls” which are the things they are gods of.
• Mina meets the Goddess of Women and Children and asks for another’s wish to be granted. A dying pregnant woman asks for her child to be saved. The Goddess cruelly declines, stating, “This girl is dead. Her child is dead,” and then she “flings the paper boat into the fire.” The paper boat is a physical manifestation of the dream.
• The Goddess of Moon and Memory appears multiple times. “A bolt of lightning flashes and silhouettes her against the darkness. She’s the most awe-inspiring being I’ve ever seen, terrible and terrifying at once.”
• One of Mina’s spirit friends, Dai, discusses the afterlife, including heaven. Dai says, “Beyond this world, there are others. One of those other worlds is heaven.”
• Mina and Shin encounter Shiki, “the death god.” Shin describes him as “One of the more powerful gods.”

By Sarah Leberknight