[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.]

The oceans where the waves glittering like a gold and the wind blows gently, there, in the sea, Jeju’s haenyeos pick seafood like abalone, sea cucumber and seaweed. Wearing only a black swimming suit, diver’s goggles and mesh, Jeju haenyeos are doing harsh work in tempatures sometimes below zero. Haenyeos can only be found in Jeju-do and Japan. They are called Jeju haenyeo or ‘Jam-nyo’ in Jeju dialect.

Until 19th century, this was a job only for men. However, men had to pay heavy taxes, so women took over this job. With the physical charracteristics of these women, they were able to adapt to the job and became the main breadwinners. Moreover, gender roles were entirely reversed as men would look after the children while the women would bring in money for the family. They became representative of the matriarchal family structure of Jeju.

On Nov,16th, the JDC journalists visited the Jeju Hanwha Aquarium to see haenyeo mulzil (haenyeo’s working under the sea) performance. Park Su Ran, a 72 year old woman, has worked as haenyeo for about 55 years. She began her work as haenyeo when she first learned how to swim. When she was young, it was play. It became a job when she became a mother to her sons. Her nickname is ‘wearing diving suit’ because of the fact she can hold her breath for up to 2 or 3 minutes. Su Ran said, “When I think about my family, I can hold my breath a long time. I have to feed my family by picking seafoods. I can’t do it absentmindedly.”

The average age of a haenyeo is older than 70 and many of haenyeos suffer from occupational diseases. They can’t do haenyeo work any longer. She said, “ I feel sad that there are no Jeju haenyeo’s successor. I hope many people pay attention to Jeju haenyeo.”

In the past, Haenyeos were incredibly wealthy and increased the island’s production and export of sea goods. This way of life is slowly dying out, most likely due to the island’s increasing popularity as a tourist destination which has taken over as the principle source of income. Nowadays, there are no haenyeo successors.

Lee Han Young, the head of institute of preserving haenyeo culture, said “We have to focus on making future haenyeo. Jeju haenyeo are from prehistoric ages, but nowadays, the youngest haenyeo is 37 years old. Haenyeos are aging. The job of a haenyeo job is will last Jeju’s culture, and is lasting because of Jeju haenyeo’s strong willpower. Yeah, Jeju Haenyeo is the symbol of Jeju’s strong woman and mother.”