White Chrysanthemum

Meet ten of literature’s most iconic heroines, jacketed in bold portraits by female photographers from around the world

‘Look for your sister after each dive. Never forget. If you see her, you are safe.’

This is the story of Hana and her little sister Emi, who are part of an island community of haenyo, women who make their living from free diving off the southernmost tip of Korea. One day Hana sees a Japanese soldier heading for where Emi is guarding the day’s catch on the beach. Saving her sister, Hana herself is captured and forced to become a comfort woman in a Japanese military brothel.

Moving between Hana in 1943 and Emi as an elderly woman today, White Chrysanthemum sheds light on a devastating history - and how the bond of sisterhood is strong enough to endure the evils of war.

Meet ten of literature’s most iconic heroines, jacketed in bold portraits by female photographers from around the world.