[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.]

On November 16th, at the Jeju Aqua Planet, a show was preformed where two Haenyeo showed their diving skills. And where many people could watch the beautiful fish.

Mrs. Park su lan is a 72 year old Haenyeo, she said, “I’ve been working as a Haenyeo for 55 years.” She continued, “My biggest catches were three abalones, each weighing about 1.2kgs.”

Wanda, who grew up in American south, and who is a current Junior Journalist mentor said, “I grew up in a small sea town, so I was very involved in the sea buisness. And when I was reading about Jeju, the first thing that caught my attention was the Haenyeo. So, when I arrived at Jeju I told my director that I wanted to see the Haenyeo. So, when I learned that there was a school program for being a Haenyeo, I had to do it.”

According to the wikipedia, the term, ‘Jam-Nyo’ (diving women) was first used in the 17th Century. But, until the 19th century, diving was mostly done by men. However, the job became unprofitable for men since they had to pay heavy taxes, unlike women who did not. So, women took over the diving, which was considered one of the lowest level jobs. However, due to the great dependence on sea products in most places on Jeju, the Haenyeo became the main breadwinners. It could also be said that women simply were more adapted for the job; because women have on average higher percentages of body fat, compared to men, their bodies are better at staying warm in the cold seas surroundeding Jeju. They often became "the head" of their family.

This evolution clashed with Korea’s Confucian culture, in which women have traditionally been treated as inferior. As a result, administrators from Seoul (unsuccessfully) tried to bar the women from diving, ostensibly because they exposed bare skin while at sea.

Starting from the late 1970s, exports of sea products to Japan such as abalone and conch made the sea women richer than ever, allowing them to fix their houses, build new ones in Jeju City, and send their daughters to college. However, there is a threat to the haenyo's continued success; their daughters are choosing to work in the island's tourism industry or in the big cities. Because of this the haenyo will most likely disappear.

Also, while in 1950 there were as many as 30,000 haenyo on the island, in 2003 there were only 5,650 sea women registered as divers, of whom 85% were over 50 years old. With the number of sea women declining and with tourism giving Jeju men more opportunities, it is unclear what will happen to their daughters' status in their communities and home. It may be unlikely that these matriarchal family structures will continue to survive.