The Last Mermaids of Jeju

Every day, Kim Ok Ja dons a wetsuit and snorkel, grabs a fishing spear and a net, and dives into the Pacific Ocean to hunt for conch and sea life that her family can eat or sell. She is 78 years old and shows no sign of slowing down. Based on the Korean island of Jeju, she is one of a dwindling group of women divers known as a “Haenyeo.”
This Great Big Story was inspired by Genesis.
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This story is a part of our Human Condition series. Come along and let us connect you to some of the most peculiar, stirring, extraordinary, and distinctive people in the world.
Great Big Story is a video network dedicated to the untold, overlooked & flat-out amazing. Humans are capable of incredible things & we're here to tell their stories. When a rocket lands in your backyard, you get in.

[@icry4703]

She is a strong woman and I felt a lot of respect for her, she is 78 and still is able to work so hard for her family. I have to give a lot of respect.

[@deanwinchestah6607]

Alice Li *woman

[@pinkheart315]

Alice Li I agree but now the family should support her not the other way round

[@thehermit8618]

Alice Li It is said that one of the traits that distinguish a Haenyeo is their iron will and determination, despite their old age

[@Mars-rn6nm]

I agree, definitely. In the u.s.a older women retire because t.hey are too old or cannot work, but this woman here can actually do it.

[@eliashernandez9511]

My moms grqnda is 100 and he still works

[@chewsday5760]

she's 78 and can hold her breath for minutes wow i aspire to be as healthy as her

[@icantthinkofaname4129]

Melur Fatima Haris I am the 250 like to your comment

[@damsie64]

I can't think of a name 2 years late but I read ur reply as “ I’m 250 years old”

[@Wilson-nf7hi]

it because shes asian

[@chewsday5760]

@@Wilson-nf7hi i'm asian so i consider your comment as good luck wish. thank you!

[@kaylee-wo3ju]

Wilson I’m Asian, and I can only hold my breath for 10 seconds.

[@alexlozano8134]

see this is a bad ass. 78 and still able to do this kind of shit. I hope i can do this type of stuff when im that old

[@carolhand8155]

Alex Lozano but rick, you are that old. 😏

[@naufalrafdi1318]

Mlpgirl70 Popularkid i see what you did there!

[@carolhand8155]

Naufal Rafdi Mhmmm

[@deannadinh1478]

Alex Lozano ikr

[@pat9006]

Alex Lozano you can your rick

[@Canoe_XD]

wow she's 78 and still able to do that and her hair looks like it doesn't have a single gray hair on her head This is a 3 year old comment lol. Yes I know she could've dyed it.

[@TheMetaldriger]

her physical strength well surpasses anyone her age. I wonder what is in her diet lmao

[@h24812h]

keanu 1000 ur right

[@mikasanchez1310]

TheMetaldriger I heard eating lots of fish helps with aging

[@sophiasoh1623]

keanu 1000 in Korea a lot of people due their hair darker to keep on looking young

[@h24812h]

keanu 1000 fuck u

[@Earendil_bright_star]

Back in old days, Jeju island of Korea didn't have many workable men since many of them die in Ocean. Jeju is a volcanic island so it was so hard to grow crops. So women went to coast and started fishing. they can swim of course, most remarkably they and hold breath longer than trained Navy seal guys. (since they dive when they were just children, no one can beat them) This Sea woman also exist in Japan for similar reason, but I do not know the name of the place in Japan.

[@fleurvictonfighting4112]

J andy Badjaos can beat them... Good comment though

[@priscillajimenez27]

Imagine them in the Olympics swimming team

[@FadilahMakmurArifMinaev]

they called as ama in japan

[@sandeshpatil3785]

@@fleurvictonfighting4112 Are they from Indonesia?

[@sandeshpatil3785]

@wallaa by oh, they are from Phillipines, just watched documentry on them. Those people are really superhuman

[@HIsuiCage]

I'm Korean, and I really feel like my generation rn doesn't respect and appreciate the Korean culture and its treasures.. Sometimes I feel like we're chasing other pop cultures so much that we forget about all the good stuff WE have, and so a lot of our traditional rituals and things are disappearing because there is no one willing to pass it on.

[@clairelittman388]

True, my grandma is teaching me Korean now so that I can visit Korea with her and talk to people.

[@depressiespaghetti9979]

Hiya, do you know why she put wasabi on her mask before diving

[@eriexo.]

시하야 Korean culture is really interesting , well in the beginning I was only interested in music Exo to be exact cause I love them so much , but than I began to learn more about Korea . Hope that I can visit Korea , I love your country I just hate mama music award cause I vote for Exo a lot but they are pure snakes . Anyways biiiiiiig internet hug from Albania (Europe) .korean culture is awesome .

[@user-fe6zp3ml8j]

jenna dyer It's toothpaste! They rub it with seaweed to get rid of frost on the mask😊

[@kathykathy0087]

시하야 me too. I'm Korean and this video is a lot to me.

[@rachelfresh5901]

Beautiful gems of Korea.

[@daluckygit8019]

Rachel Fresh south korea no jems in the north

[@-airymations-8967]

@@daluckygit8019 North Korea isn’t the one to blame. It’s Japan. Only who got taught the full and long story of how the Korean War started, it started with Japan and America and Russia both were trying to control North and South Korea, but then North Koreans were trying to free the South Koreans and started the war. But it all came to peril and that’s how it happened. There is still a lot more but Japan started everything. That is why many elderly Koreans do not like Japan. So we South Koreans do not blame the north, some may do but they (they as in elderly or people not from gen Z) mostly deep,y hate Japan for this.

[@marcoantunes1813]

@@-airymations-8967 I get your point... I’m from Brazil, and my people have been enslaved, murdered, raped and destroyed for generations by the Portuguese colonizers... they destroyed our lands and cultures, attacked our societies and families, suffocated our identities. For many years, I blamed Europe for this loss, this cancer, called Colonialism, that infected the Americas. But now, after a lot of reflection, I figured that there’s no point in hating the modern people for what their ancestors did. I know, it’s hard to let it go, knowing that many of their privileges came from your destruction, but hate never helped anybody to fix things. Only together we can fix the world and bring justice to our countries. Only forgiveness can free the ones that have been hurt.

[@-airymations-8967]

@@marcoantunes1813 Yea long time ago slavery and other was harsh too everywhere. In Korea, Japan attacked with 100+ ships and Korea only had 12-13, but Korea still won. In Korea itself Koreans were forced to be slaves by the kings and emperors in Korea. They beat them and tortured them. Then Japan took and invaded the Koreans and placed them in jails. In there they did all types of torture, from ripping off toe nails to dunking the heads in a bucket to drown. I had visited the original jail and it was hellish, and a really eerie experience because thousands had died there. I really feel bad for what they did to your country too, slavery and murder or horrible. North Korea still hates us even though Japan and north started it all. I agree with you, we should forgive and live lives as one.

[@marcoantunes1813]

@@-airymations-8967 I’m sorry if I sounded too aggressive, or maybe attacked your opinion. You certainly know better about your country and history, you are the only one who can judge what is right for you. I just tried to share with you a new thought, that you are free to agree or disagree. I’m glad that we got in the same page at the end. Hopefully we, oppressed countries, can find our way to freedom together. Love from Brazil 🇧🇷 Keep being amazing, SK 🇰🇷❤️

[@trex1448]

It'd a hard physical life. No one wants to do it anymore.

[@stoichr3324]

Andrew Lee That is not true. they make pretty decent money. it became popular recently. Now there is a Haenyo college. where people study to become professional Haenyo.

[@tomatosoup7704]

Heewon S i think they mean its too hard to do?

[@stoichr3324]

Rita Bear / w \ I know what he means. but in south korea the trend is changing. the younger generations are willing to do difficult hard work such as quitting decent corporate job for more money and better future even it is hard work.

[@tomatosoup7704]

Heewon S​ Oh, okay :) I thought you thought they were saying "its a hard physical life." As in less payment from doing the job :9

[@nntflow7058]

It doesn't pay as much. Most mermaids only done this to get daily food back in the day. Most of them not doing this to generate income.

[@phoenix-kenzodapathaan5568]

Inspiring at that age

[@cinnabonbon]

Absolutely beautiful story, it made me sad that people who trained hard like her are working in a way of life that is dying out

[@calebdavis9237]

That's what sustainable fishing looks like. This is an amazing video!!

[@AM-sm5oo]

Respect, she does stuff most of us can’t even dream of doing.

[@fmcdomer]

WHAT A HERO

[@anastasiabirde8800]

all she is doing is just catching fish. how is that a hero.

[@kyralydiamaheswari8418]

@@anastasiabirde8800 not JUST catching fish, but also PROVIDING food for their families. In the old days, food was kinda hard to get and there wasn't much food (Like Ok Ja said in the video). What if they didn't exist? If they didn't exist for a long time, they might starve

[@maruisaiahnapa7381]

It's hard to hear that this way of living will die out eventually, because a haenyeo's lifestyle is primarily hunter-gatherer. Maybe it could be kept alive through more exposure and teaching younger generations this method of food gathering as a sport or hobby when out on the countryside.

[@lollypokemon]

beautiful story

[@browerpule8859]

God bless her soul and bless her with great things. She definitely inspires others to do things that they are passionate about. God bless her loving soul

[@fipper3148]

78 years old. still working hard for the family. still doing this job in order to support family. m8. she has lots of respect from many people.

[@miguelramirez5972]

Enjoyed it the first time it was published....

[@vidstige7516]

How can this get dislikes?

[@milktea9328]

Arvid Persson vegan people's..

[@midori8703]

People who don't care about tradition and prefer modern things like fish farms.

[@RageRilla]

Arvid Persson people who hate humanity

[@alanchen8273]

Excuse me. I'm chinese

[@alanchen8273]

I didn't dislike the video .

[@anti-socialban-anne-na562]

I clicked this because I was expecting real life mermaids, like the ones from Legend of The Blue Sea, but I'm not disappointed though.

[@awkwardmyrtle]

My husband (boyfriend at the time) and I spent a week hiking the beautiful Jeju Olle trails and came upon a couple of women divers who had just come up from the ocean. They opened a fresh sea urchin for us and it was the most amazing thing we've ever tasted! Really awesome memory.

[@caesar_0]

You have a really awesome memory.

[@xyriusd832]

I wish we all had to experience different parts of the world as a student in order to graduate. so we can see how others live and appreciate what we have even of its not much. old ladies here and even young people all just complain and sit around waiting for government money when they break a toe.

[@margaritacastrejon2712]

Boo Seungkwan would be proud.

[@lydian7821]

i was scrolling through the comments to see if anyone has mentioned this

[@margaritacastrejon2712]

tea hee We carats gotta make other carats laugh.

[@_phanxtroyler_3918]

I WAS GONNA SAY 😆😂

[@charli2234]

Margarita Castrejon i started watching this and i was like damn, she sounds exactly like seungkwan

[@aloevera420]

Margarita Castrejon Can someone explain why? 😅

[@holy6704]

This made me miss my grandma, I wanna hug her.

[@ReviewersNation1970]

She’s 78 and still does diving that’s amazing! Thank you Great Big Story

[@washakalakaka6764]

I hope she lives On and on 👏

[@browerpule8859]

God Bless her and her life. She is representing her profession with pride and because of that made me cry

[@nokia6630videos]

78 grandma on motorcycle getting her own food from the wilderness gave me life

[@lolstrass]

What a brave woman... just WOW!

[@AKYTCHANNEL94]

Respect for the old lady shes amazing

[@evelinakaklauskaite5088]

This was so inspiring and I love this women for helping her family for a long time. I think everybody can take this as a lesson

[@kaina2593]

She's an inspiration

[@zeroexea]

why have you posted this video like 4 times

[@fairysandflight4306]

Bc I s important

[@Patrick-cy2zh]

What's sup with the uploads? Do they upload videos they already had so it seems like for new viewers that they make new videos often?

[@edqlyn]

I cried a little she works sooo hard and she has a smile when she works

[@shantellelouisee]

oh wow 78 years old and to me it looks like she has no grey hairs at all

[@mm-ob9bw]

wanggae She dyed it back.

[@grape1829]

wanggae She puts a squid on her head once a month.

[@hanullkim1463]

I love her so much. I even got to meet her when i was in Jeju and she is a beauty, she is a queen she is an inspiration. 할머니 너무 좋아해요! 건강하게 계시고 파이팅 💕

[@Eric-nq5ms]

jeju on that beat

[@theshoesinjiminshandsinmvo2367]

E A.G Omg xD

[@milaamour]

I remember back in 2017 when I went to jeju and I met these two women !! And they are so sweet and empowering

[@kappreesans8670]

RESPECT!!!!! She's 78 years old and still works!????! FREAKING BADASS!!!!! While I'm here eating chips and watching KZbin this woman works so hard. It kinda makes me sad :'(

[@laviebanale]

That's one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen. Bravo, cheers , and what more to those ladies.

[@Marley-18.]

This is remarkable. Being able to hold her breathe that long and dive at her age is something one doesn’t see everyday

[@jennyschroeder1717]

This is awesome! I love doing short free dives without any equipment. I hate having a tank strapped to me and breathing through my mouth. I always have a panic attack under water when I try to scuba dive. So free dive is totally for me.

[@corallinehalli8845]

I used to live in Jeju, and when I went to visit them, they told me that the secret method to having strong bones was because of the horse bones they were given to eat when they were young.

[@miamoos6566]

I remember watching something about South Korea and it at had a few of these type of woman. It was really inspiring and amazing.

[@dongdynamics]

What this is a reupload

[@charkee167]

No. It says "Inspired by geneisis and a few other things

[@dongdynamics]

Jesse Lee lol I've seen this video multiple times in my subscription feed before this... The description has nothing to do with this being a reupload

[@lexw1355]

Bless her heart ❤

[@kindredlamar]

I wanna protect this woman.

[@dawnn_1781]

What a beautiful story!❤️💁‍♀️

[@mightyja9201]

She's healthy. Diving is tiring, like exercising. In water, it's more hard to move. So she burned a lot of Calories.

[@sweetiepie949]

So inspiring. At 78 year old she still do Her best to take care of her Family. 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾

[@clivebby4877]

78?! Holding breath for a long time?! Now I'm like 1/10 of her age.... I can barely swim.... I have respiratory issues....and I'm accident prone as hell so i wpuld probably die... so props to her.....

[@aulianabalqis3662]

This is such an inspiration. We have to respect how strong she is 👏👏

[@chelle1276]

Her family's lucky to have her

[@lol69970]

My grandma is 73 but trust me she is so active and looks so much younger I was SHOCKED when I found out she was 73!!!!

[@kincaidlee5566]

She’s a queen

[@monarch282]

Im 13 and cant do anything she can... im ashamed, she deserves all the respect she gets.

[@larkman1995]

this is the truest example of a badass.

[@BT-gl3kv]

This warms my heart

[@constantine7534]

This 78 Year Old: -Holds Breath For Minutes- Me: -Can Barely Hold Breath For Five Seconds-

[@maryamshahid1773]

This breaks my heart. Hiw the world is so oblivious of the actual heros. It makes me sad

[@ginasaephanh1511]

Dang kudos to this lady.. Anyone think they're be moving around by her age? 79 yrs old

[@beepboop2194]

I want to give this lady a hug and at least TRY to keep this alive

[@buranday3281]

Can we have a book published about this woman?

[@TheSnowyOwl-zg2ck]

Wow, holds her breath for minutes at a time. I really enjoyed this video. thxx.

[@Hot-t6x]

She is 78 years old & can hold her breath for one minute or more.. Here's me Cant hold even 30sec.. :O

[@ttm1795]

Wow this is so inspiring😭💗 I hope she’s healthy and doing well

[@donngirl114]

I hope and pray to god that she is still alive.. ♥️♥️♥️

[@taimaaalahmad9061]

She’s 81 now imagine she still swims she got to be the oldest swimmer in women’s

[@romancorey6796]

It’s so weird that, in a country so technologically advanced, so modern, there is still this a tradition going on.

[@autumngamer3972]

Respect

[@Ramtheus]

I left my respect after stopping here.

[@antisocialsocialclubpresid5433]

Dang she's always smiling..

[@lillian1061]

Wow this woman is so admirable and hard working...I can't believe she's 70

[@yzyjoey]

Isnt this reuploaded?

[@williamyue7342]

Joseph Chun I believe it is.

[@yzyjoey]

LeFlyingSaucer No it was in video called the best of the last dumbass

[@nanowar1192]

not just reupload but this is 3rd time i believe =))

[@miraininsa]

So what if it's reuploaded, still it's a beautiful story

[@aduwa154]

I have MAD RESPECT for this woman. She's very tough. We need more women like this in America

[@kingbear119]

I'm not trying to sound rude or anything, first of all I adore her for being proud of what she is doing. Anyway this practice is common in Philippines. They stay underwater for almost 20 minutes with the use of a long tube for breathing. They do not have any equipment for protection, they only wear trunks and that's it. Most of them does not age to 78 tho since a lot of them die because of this dangerous routine.

[@squibly7240]

King Bear In your last sentence your basically praising her, but in your other sentence that praising comment made it kinda feel like you weren't surprised and made it seem like it was normal to you. (not trying to argue with you BTW)

[@marcobaek1378]

i saw them on TV!!! BADASS!!!!

[@stoichr3324]

King Bear you are wrong. These women have done this over 20 years. They monitor thier condition carefully and are all very healthy compare to elders with significantly less activity.

[@zxbcv]

no no no she does not use breathing materials at all like long tubes.. she just does'nt breathe at all... very different in the ph.. than this...

[@LYTRA]

King Bear But this isn’t about the fuckin Philippines

[@aeagatusang4354]

amazing! she's already that old but still provides for her family...

[@savageyoongi0098]

Theres also in ph

[@rizee2390]

YEEEEEEEEAAHHHH~~

[@fleurvictonfighting4112]

Badjao Was the spelling right?

[@gplbts]

this was amazingly inspiring!

[@MysteryVoice1405]

Legend Of The Blue Sea anyone?

[@BBINCA]

I hope people in her country saves this spectacular way. I wanna be a mermaid. She is so strong I wanna be like her.............

[@nezcro_7595]

I know jeju bc of seungkwan and vernon and other kpop idols

[@genec.2985]

Sukhleen Gaming I know jeju because I have been there multiple times

[@ZeWunderwaffen]

I came there last year, and I can't stop to remembering how beautiful it is there

[@aroonagrawal8258]

That explains how healthy she is and will be.

[@randylazer2894]

Kim Ok Ja.....you kick ass! Huge respect, as you are so mentally strong, and your lifelong sacrifice to feed your family is amazing. G-d bless you and your family

[@heiloniris1747]

I'm 15 with strands of white hair this lady has no noticeable white hair

[@NeostormXLMAX]

because of exercise

[@retrogamer2503]

She could have dyed it though. At this age, you're bound to get white hair.

[@sharkeisha2225]

78 my grandma is the same age and she still plants her own food and sells it at markets. I love this mama so much ! She still got the strength !!

[@kermitthefrog5442]

imagine being able to swim *can't relate*

[@Ai-zb6oc]

She reminds me and looks like my grandma... but 20 yrs older so I cried because I never get to see her a lot and that she sacrificed so much for me

[@kaylahw6916]

A queen

[@kimslife2492]

She is 78 and can swim really good while holding her breath for minutes . Wow she is talented and strong

[@braachiosaurus]

Legend of The Blue Sea be like

[@erivcanseco9646]

I'm so touched by their courage to find food for their family

[@athallahevangushef-ximipa6162]

"In the south korean island there a diver called henyeoung his been swimming for HUNDREDS OF YEAR" "Hello im henyeoung im 78 years old" Me:"......."

[@mohebdabilkar6357]

sarhsnge ahjumma we all love you are sooo soo sweet . knowing your love for nature n sealife touched my heart

[@jeeks_boo]

Did she put wasabi in her goggles- Think it’s just me

[@abthurd]

I think it's to prevent fogging or some sort.

[@Kab61670]

Truly a gem of a mermaid!

[@craigelon]

why did she put wasabi into her goggles?

[@IndieHumbug]

I wonder why as well.

[@nadiarani3673]

maybe it's mugwort? heard that it prevents goggles from fogging

[@michaeljarcia8835]

mp dawg I heard its toothpaste but I don't no why they put it

[@ikaikaxkeahi]

mp dawg prevents goggles from becoming fogged up. Toothpaste is also another method

[@vtaehyungg6304]

mai pham to help it not dog up

[@ananya.a04]

It all comes down to your diet and how well you take care of your body. Regular yoga, meditation and nature friendly diet is all a person needs to lead a happy and prosperous life. A healthy mind and a healthy body go hand in hand. People like them worked hard for their entire lives and were never picky about their food, which gave them this incredulous health and strength that they still retain. Although we don’t have to work hard like them, we still must abstain from unhealthy foods and do yoga regularly if we want to lead a healthy and happy life. 😊

[@sumitrrabalasubramaniam8929]

whoa. i wish korean children would learn about this culture in schools and not just immerse themselves in the world of Korean Pop music.

[@user-uu5dc6wr6h]

I can read from your comment that you somehow got to the assumption that Korean kids are only interested in pop culture. And I don't know how you got there but I'd recommend you leave that sort of thinking behind, where you make assumptions about other people without much actual factual background.

[@liaminkorea1770]

OP is clearly one of those easily brainwashed type of people.

[@zzz3407]

I have so much fricking respect for this woman