Before the dawn mist lifts
I take the float in my arms and walk into the water
On land I'm a woman who lowers her head
But underwater I'm the master
A place no nobleman in a gat can reach
A place no man with a net can touch
I go down carrying one breath
And the sea spreads out my skirt
I hold my breath, deeper, deeper
The sounds of the world go away
The laws above the water, the sorrows above the water
Cannot follow me this far
Hwiii — sumbisori
My breath bursting over the water
Hwiii — sumbisori
The song that says I'm alive
The sea does not ask who owns it
The waves do not ask your rank
In the water, I am free
With one iron pick I take abalone
And fill the net bag with the sea
On the deep floor of the northern shoal
I saw one black ship
Chests sleeping in the split hull
And fish keeping watch over documents
The secrets of the land I leave on the land
Today too, I go down to harvest breath
I hold my breath, deeper, deeper
The sounds of the world go away
The laws above the water, the sorrows above the water
Cannot follow me this far
Hwiii — sumbisori
My breath bursting over the water
Hwiii — sumbisori
The song that says I'm alive
The sea does not ask who owns it
The waves do not ask your rank
In the water, I am free
(holding my breath)
Ieodo sana, ieodo sana
The song my mother used to sing
Under the water it is quiet
And what is quiet is not to be feared
The breath runs out
Toward the light — I rise
Hwiii — sumbisori
My breath bursting over the water
Hwiii — sumbisori
The song that says I'm alive
The sea does not ask who owns it
The waves do not ask your rank
In the water, I am free
Alive again today