Surrounded by the Yellow Sea, East China Sea, and the Japan Sea, South Korea holds a lot of cultural systems based on its peninsular nature. One of these systems are the Haenyeos - Hae (Sea) + Nyeo (Women), or a group of Korean divers in the area of Jeju Island, south of Korea. These Haenyeos harvest a variety of sea life - ranging from shellfish to seaweed, things that are not as accessible via ferries, nor easily harvestable by machine/automation. Although the occupation is shared by both men and women - over time it has become quite female dominated. There are some historical and scientific reasons for this, but now it is mostly cultural. But these Haenyeos dive without oxygen tanks - they dive for minutes off of just their breath, and they do this for hours (5+) a day. As a result, they are very fit, and many of these Haenyeos are actually very old - some even in their 80s.
This practice and group of people have recently been listed as a FAO agricultural heritage system - their practice in Korea is almost iconic. They're not wholly relevant, yet many citizens will know of these people, and many Korean dramas also feature Haenyeos. Reading about this was really interesting, and it really shines the light on one of Korea's many subcommunities/subcultures.
Comments
I think introducing Haenyeos is an effective way to share the geographic features of South Korea. Even though I already knew that they dive without oxygen tanks, the fact they do that for hours always amazes me. I also remember watching the Korean Drama "Our Blues" which captures some aspects and culture of Haeneyos.
This is something I've never known before and I appreciate you sharing it with us. It's cool to know that even in such a small country, like South Korea, there are completely different lifestyles throughout the nation. You have the city people in Seoul and then the Haenyeos you mentioned here.