▲ JDC junior journalists are posing after covering haenyeo and Hado village. Photo by Kim Jinmi

[This article is written by a JDC Junior Journalist. The JDC Junior Journalist program is an educational project sponsored by Jeju Free International City Development Corporation (JDC). JDC Junior Journalist articles are only briefly edited by mentors before publishing.]

Have you ever held your breath underwater for more than 1 minute before? Maybe you can’t because submerging for a long time isn’t easy but haenyeo can do it for more than 3 minutes.

The haenyeo are in many countries but According to Sin jae gyeong from Jejusori.net, the birthplace of the Haenyeo is Jeju island. The Haenyeo catch many different kinds of seafood like abalone.

Their job is dangerous and difficult. In order to dive into the deep sea to catch lots of sea food, they should wear very heavy wrought iron wieghts. As a result they suffer a great deal of back pain. They must therefore recieve physical therapy .They also have chronic headaches. So they have a haenyeo license which allows them to recieve free medical service at the hospital. They also have many accidents. falling and scraping are the basic and they even wear a cast.

They have more dangerous accident. when they show up on the water, boat happened to hit them.A foggy day, they can’t dstinguish drections. And they can be died because of heart attack when they are catching sea food in the ocean. In the past, they didn’t have suit to protect from the cold.

Bark Mi-jeong who started this job when she was 17 years old because her family was poor. She became a haenyeo at a very young age, and even though she is 53 years old now, she still continues her work. She said “ I have no regrets, but sometimes I feel so tired.”

Ham suk-hee who started working as a haenyeo when she was 19 years old. She is 67 years old, she said, “I won’t quit my job as long as i’m healthy.” To help the haenyeo with their health the government provides free medical services to certified haenyeo.

These days, the numbers of haenyeo are decreasing because of the difficult and dangerous nature of the job. But jeju’s haenyeo works hard and they do thier job with pride. They are old much but stronger than any other young man.

In haenyeo museum held festival.That festival has lots of activities like swimming contest or Who catch sea food most. Participants of this festival can participate in activities like seeing performances, getting pictures wearing haenyeo clothing, swimming like the haenyeo, and experiencing traditional boat rides.