Haenyeo, Sea Women of Korea's Jeju Island Part I.

제주해녀 UNESCO 등재 기원 특집: 해녀, 그들의 이야기 1편
For hundreds of years, women in Korea's southernmost island of Jeju have made their living harvesting seafood by hand from the ocean floor.
They are known as haenyeo, female free-divers who submerge under deep sea without any breathing apparatus. You might picture extraordinary people with extra human powers... but they are not.
Always tired and breathless but embodying incredible mental and physical strength they are the sisters, mothers, and grandmothers of the people of Jeju Island.
We shed light on the Korean women divers of Jeju Island who have faced the tempestuous tides of history and struggle for economic survival for centuries.
I went to meet them... they say "We go to the otherworld to earn money, and return to the earthly world to save our kids."
Jeju.
Lying 64 kilometers south of the Korean peninsula... the island of Jeju is one of Korea's most popular holiday spots... with its beautiful landscape and mild weather.
It's called the Land of Paradise, Hawaii of Korea... but among many things, Jeju has traditionally been referred to as Samdado... or land of three abundances: "roaring winds, magnificent rocks and women."
"Not just any woman. But, women who've been free-diving into the sea for centuries and generations to feed the children, to support the family... for survival."
On a sunny yet chilly morning in May... 72-year-old Lee Sung-mae and her village sisters... head out for their daily routine.
With their diving gear tucked beneath their arms, the elderly women chat as they make their way to a rocky beach on the western side of the island.
As they have for 60 years, they wipe their goggles with a fistful of mugwort and jump into the darkness of the deep sea.
"Once you dive in the water, you bring back cash. Life was so hard that we couldn't live without harvesting underwater."
"There was no other way to making a living. My mother was a haenyeo, my sister-in-law is a haenyeo and I also learned to dive here. From a very young age, we all learned to free-dive."
"It's hard work but what can we do? I educated my children with the money earned from harvesting underwater. I sent my kids to college on the mainland doing this."
They are haenyeo... female divers of Jeju who take to the ocean as deep as 10, 20 meters... without any special diving or breathing equipment.
For centuries, they've braved the treacherous waters of the Korea Strait... using only flippers and goggles as they scour the sea bed for abalone, conch and octopus.
These women hold their breath for up to three minutes, withstand intense water pressure... the frigid water temperatures... struggling to improve their bounty in order to make ends meet.
The first historical references to the haenyeo can be traced back to the 17th century.
"By the 17th century, men were going to sea to fish or work on warships and they never returned, so diving became exclusively women's work. Documents from the late 17th century show women gathering abalone as well as seaweed from the ocean floor."
No one knows for sure how the haenyeo became the primary breadwinners of their families... but in a country where Confucianism has left an indelible patriarchal mark everywhere, haenyo culture has long bucked conventional gender roles on the island.
When they are not in the ocean, they grow crops and harvest the land, do household work and take care of the children.
Seventy-two-year-old Lee is at a relative's house... after a five hour dive.
It's a day to perform ancestral rites... the women in the neighborhood get together to help out... as even after an exhausting day underwater, THIS too is the women's work.
"Women have a lot of work to do in Jeju. We give birth to children, feed them, send them to school... We go harvesting underwater, farm when we're not in the ocean. Preparing for these ancestral rites is also our job."
"Jeju women have always been strong and economically productive. When we first got married, my wife used to bring back up to 100 kilograms of abalone and conch. Sometimes I feel bad that men just stay at home when the women are in the icy water. But, it's always been that way here."
Traditionally a job handed down from mother to daughter, haenyeo life has been shunned in recent decades by nearly all the girls born in Jeju's seaside villages.
They tend to favor more comfortable lives in the island's two cities or on the mainland.
"Diving in the sea is such a harsh, low-esteem job. Holding your breath, going underwater... it's strenuous. Why would the young ones want to take on this job?"
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[@Letsmarchishere]

I came here after I read Lisa See's book titled "The Island of Sea Women". I felt so sorry for the less useful men in Jeju, haenyeo was given too much responsibility 😩

[@jamesyarusso5268]

So did I, I'm fascinated by these women.

[@thereandtheir9385]

Same!

[@gabic1225]

Same!! Lisa's book is really informative but makes you want for more. I just couldn't find any review by a Jeju local, would love to read what they think of it.

[@nafisatasnim7555]

I'm currently reading that book!😍

[@lemontrends150]

These women are incredibly Brave

[@scootosan]

Conn-young I enjoy your educational documentaries.

[@kimberlysecong2032]

Godbles to all granma😊🥰

[@rosmalinamalina9260]

These women are happy with their work.

[@charleskung7699]

i was from kota kinabalu and i love diving, now i was in samseong myeon hope one day i can dive with them.

[@meropemerope6096]

hope your dream come true

[@redfullpack]

these halmoni are incredibly tough women with incredible lungs to endure dive like this

[@darndarn8961]

"Sometimes I feel bad that men just stay at home when the women are in the icy water. But, it's always been that way here." ... no words..

[@tahnieg1083]

72? Respect!

[@dileksaglamol5536]

doğayı koruyalım...fabrika atıklarını...petrol atıklarını denizlere boşaltmayalım...canlıları sevelim...onlar çocuk gibi....

[@prntm926]

One of them is in their 70s, holyshit thats badass.

[@falsedmitry3922]

How is it possible that they have little to no gray hair at their age ?

[@marydoe8961]

Hair dye.

[@shonnamckowen1643]

“ผู้หญิงแห่งท้องทะเล เจจู” Ladies of the sea bottom at Jeju ชีวิตบนเกาะเจจู Jeju ชายหาดดนตรี ในทะเลเกาหลี Korea เกาะหินภูเขาไฟ เช้าชายออกเรือหาปลา ยันอาทิตย์ลับดับหาย ไม่เห็นกาย เหล่านางนั่งกล่อมลูกรอ คอยเหม่อ จำใจทิ้งลูกไว้ในกระท่อม ชวนเดินด้อม ลงทะเล ผูกหลังแทนเป้ ตาข่ายถัก เก็บหอยเจอ ฝึกดำน้ำอึด งมปลาหมึกเกาะยึด หินเบ้อเร่อ สาหร่ายอีกพะเรอ หมุนวนตามฤดูกาล ดำน้ำอึดนาน จนล่วงสู่วัยชรา ผ่านมา80 ปีกว่า เงือกน้อยอัศจรรย์ ทั้งหอยนางรม หอยเป๋าฮื้อ ปลาหมึกหวาน นานนับปีพัน สงบงันใต้น้ำ ดูปะการังแสนสุขใจ จากมือต่อมือ แซะหอยบนโขดหิน ลมหายใจประจำถิ่น กลั้นอึดดำน้ำลงว่าย หากเมฆฝนพายุ ตั้งเค้าในเพลาใด เก็บถุงตาข่าย กลับกระท่อมไกล ตั้งตารอ Floraview 24.5.22

[@dannnsss8034]

It's pronounced "jeh-ju", not "jay-ju" 🤦

[@cintulator2]

Superwomen, not intersectional feminists. Throw an intersectional bitter "bodypositive" feminist to the sea, the big sharks would be confused. A wounded big greasy seal?

[@rwildes8696]

cintu lator who hurt you? Lol 😆