One of the Jeju treasures is the traditional figure of the haenyeo female divers of the island (해녀). For centuries, female divers played a key role in the economy of the island by harvesting shellfish and seaweed. Known for their fierce character, they were inscribed on the representative list of Intangible Cultural Heritage Items of Humanity in 2016.

I met haenyeo Lee Mae-chun in her house near Gujwa Village. We talked about her experience as a haenyeo and how her job has evolved over time. She has been working as a diver for more than 50 years and used to dive daily for up to seven hours per day. Since she has gotten older, however, she's diving only when the sea conditions are optimal.

- How did you become a haenyeo?

When I was young, Jeju was one of the poorest regions of Korea and working at sea was one of the few options for people living here. My mother and my mother-in-law were haenyeo and I started diving when I was 13-years-old. So becoming a haenyeo was inevitable for me.

I worked in Japan for some time, and there both men and women worked as divers. While in Japan, I learned how to dive with auxiliary oxygen and used this technique until I was 21-years-old. With an oxygen tank, we can keep fishing for 20 minutes in deep water or for 1 hour in shallow water.

When I came back to Korea, I used to only dive with no assistance. Without assistance, you can dive up to 2 minutes before going back to the surface. I worked everywhere in Korea, as we usually were hired by locals to harvest. For example, I worked often in the Ulsan area, where the sea was rich with umutgasari seaweed (우뭇가사리) compared to the seas around Jeju.



- How has the job changed over the past 50 years?

At that time, it was easy to find seaweed and to sell it, but nowadays it’s hard to find. Abalone was also easy to spot and to collect, but these days, no more. I still remember the excitement of catching a lot of abalone during one dive. Abalone was very valuable and you could earn good money for it.

When I started, we didn’t have proper suits or inner red cotton clothing, nebok long underwear for the winter, and all we wore was a cotton suit, so it was always very cold! If your body and your health weren't strong enough, you couldn't have done this job.

After the introduction of scuba suits during the 1970s, we could work longer in the water because it keeps you warm while swimming.

To preserve the natural livestock, we followed a calendar that prohibited harvesting during the mating season of the species. For instance, the seashell season is open from September to May. There are calendars for different kinds of plants and animals.

Even though we tried our best to preserve the life of the sea creatures, the condition of the sea and its livestock has changed a lot, and pollution has had a big impact on it.

The sea around Ulsan used to be rich in Agar-agar algae, while the sea around Jeju was full of other kinds of seaweed, like hecho (해초), but the environment has changed and Jeju is now also full of Agar-agar. Hecho plays an important role in the life of many fish because they can hide among the hecho, but now that this seaweed is gone around Jeju, there are also fewer fish in the sea around the island.

Hecho is very essential in the water because it attracts fish and other species. For example, the beakfish (multot, 물톳) is now hard to find around Jeju because of environment changes.

We can still find seashells and sea urchins, but abalone is disappearing.

Many years ago, when abalone was in season, you could sell one kilogram of abalone for the equivalent of USD $100, so it was easy to make money with it. Nowadays, we can't earn as much as we used to. The value of the seafood is lower than before. At the time, I could easily find one kilogram of abalone after a day's work, but nowadays, the water is polluted and it’s hard to find.

- What are the most important skills for a haenyeo?

There are many roles for Jeju women. Because we are strong physically and mentally, we can manage it.

I think the most important thing is knowledge of the sea and marine life. As there is fertile soil and not fertile soil on the land, also in the ocean there are places good to find seafood and others that are not good.

Most shellfish and fish at the end of the day come back to certain areas among the rocks and seaweed, so haenyeo know where to catch them. Haenyeo use an iron stick to catch them out of their holes. The fish are very smart and know where they can hide and also how to escape.

Learning to be a diver is very difficult and you have to learn how sea conditions change according to the weather, water tides, the behavior of the sea creatures and so on, and how to respond to these changes while you dive. All this takes years to learn.

For instance, shellfish hide under the sand when a storm is coming. Knowing nature's behavior is a lifetime study, and the earlier you start, the better. That's why we start diving when we're very young. We learn how to swim in any conditions so we can keep diving even in rough seas.

Nature will always be smarter than human beings, and we try to adapt to it. We learn how some species, like the sea urchin (seongge, 성게), abalone (jeonbok, 전복) or octopuses usually live where the water current is stronger, or where the low and high tide meet, so we need to go there to find them.

I started when I was 13-years-old. Now, I'm 72 and still learning.

- What do you think about women's place in society in Jeju?

Being strong means not only having physical power but also having a powerful mind. The women of Jeju take care of the kids, grow the food in the field, clean and cook for the whole family, and at the same time work as haenyeo. There is no time for ourselves. There are many roles for women in Jeju. However, because we're strong physically and mentally, we can manage it.



- Are young people interested in becoming haenyeo? Do you think haenyeo are going to disappear?

This is a lifetime work that needs commitment and it can’t be mastered in a short period of time. Once my daughter-in-law had the opportunity to work as a haenyeo during her free time, and she realized how hard it was and that it's a job that can't be done part-time.

If you don't have a strong mind and a strong commitment, you can't do this job. You risk your life every day. You cannot take this job lightly. (Writer's note: an average of nine haenyeo per year have died in the waters around Jeju over the past five years.)

Also, among experienced divers, there are different levels of skill: who can catch more, or dive deeper, or stay in the water longer. They have knowledge and skills. How to catch the most valuable products, and where to find them. This is based on experience and it's very important.

As students need to study more to get a good score, divers also need experience and knowledge to do a good job. Divers need qualifications to prove they can swim well and learn where the good products are located, and water tides and movements are key to finding good products. We know when and where to enter the water, depending on the weather conditions and water currents, and at which periods and in which areas we can find certain products. You can only learn this from experience.

Seashells can also predict the weather. When the weather is nice, they stick loosely to the rocks, but if they hold on a bit more strongly, it means that the weather will change and that rain or a storm is on its way.

People come to Jeju from the mainland to learn at the haenyeo school, but my impression is that they learn it as a hobby and not as a lifetime commitment or career, as it should be learned. They come here just out of curiosity and to experience it as a hobby.

In order to become a haenyeo, you need to know everything about the island and the sea around it, the wind movements and all of that. These are things that you only learn if you start at a young age and they aren't something you can learn over a short period of time or as a hobby.

If I were younger, I'd go anywhere to a foreign country to do dive work. I used to go to Japan, but I would also like to visit Italy. Let’s go together. I want to go! (laughs)

Nowadays, I work only when the weather is nice; when there are no waves and the water is calm. There are some windows when there's good weather for a week, so I head out to sea every day. We usually stop when we collect enough seafood and our baskets are full.



As I ask her if she thinks the haenyeo will disappear because there are no young recruits, suddenly her expression changes and she looks away. Her son answered instead of her.

"Yes, she thinks they'll disappear over the next 20 years or so," he said. After a few seconds, she smiled to me again and invited me to join them on the beach the next day, as the weather was going to be perfect for diving.

Being able to meet her was a great experience for me, and, thanks to her, I learned a lot about the haenyeo. The day after the interview, I joined them on the beach and will write about that experience in my next article.

By Vincenzo Acampora Carratura
Korea.net Honoray Reporter
Photos: Vincenzo Acampora Carratura

http://koreanetblog.blogspot.kr/2017/02/an-interview-with-haenyeo.html