[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.]

A haenyeo is a woman who dives under the water without equipment to collect shells, fish and other types of seafood for a living. The haenyeo can also hold their breath for an average of three minutes and can endure the ocean’s pressure. Because of these abilities, many scholars have studied the haenyeo.

According to Lee Han Yong, representative of the Haenyeo Culture Preservation Institute, scholars have found that the haenyeo have no special ability. Instead their strength comes from a mother’s mind that thinks about her family. Lee first became interested in the haenyeo because he liked to swim, and is now working to preserve their culture. “When I saw the haenyeo, I worried about the future of their culture, so I decided to raise awareness by holding the haenyeo performance at Aqua Planet in Jeju,” he said.

Lee also mentioned the controversy with Japan over the UNESCO title. “Japan is trying to make their haenyeo hold a UNESCO World Heritage title, but UNESCO knows the Korea’s haenyeo are the original,” he said. “But if we know more about the haenyeo culture, it will be easier to make our haenyeo a world heritage.“ Finally, Lee expressed his concern over the decreasing number of haenyeo. “I want more people in Jeju to think about becoming haenyeo as their career,” he said.

As the haenyeo culture is becoming recognized internationally, more people from other countries are becoming interested in them, such as, Wanda Wynn, an American who graduated from haenyeo school. “I grew up in a small town in Southern America and a large part of my childhood was spent in a fishing village called Mayport,” she said. “When I began researching Jeju, the first thing that I heard about or read about was the haenyeo, and I was automatically drawn to that culture. I wanted to know more about it.”

More information can be found at www.haenyoe.go.kr or by visiting the Haenyeo Museum in Jeju or calling 064-782-9898. A haenyeo performance can also be seen at Aqua Planet in Jeju.