Seoul, South Korea (CNN) In 1991, Kim Sin-yeol and her husband made the unusual decision to move to a lonely outcrop of islands at the heart of a long-standing territorial dispute between Japan and South Korea.

Currently administered by Seoul, the Dokdo Islands are located in the the East Sea, according to South Korea. Japan, however, calls the islands Takeshima and refers to their surrounding waters as the Sea of Japan.

For years, the couple were the tiny islands' only permanent residents, although other people, such as policeman, lighthouse operators and tourists, would periodically come and go.

Kim Sin-yeol, the sole permanent resident of the South Korean-administered Dokdo Islands, with her late husband. The islands are called Takeshima by Japan, which also claims ownership.

Bad weather could cut the islands off from the outside world for weeks, but their surrounding waters were a rich fishing ground. Kim, who is originally from Jeju Island, worked as a "haenyeo" -- a traditional, female freediver -- until 2017 when poor health caused her to quit.

But since the death of her husband, Kim Sung-do, last October, the 81-year-old has been the only permanent resident on the volcanic islands.

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