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Jeju Island Haenyeo

A woman whose job is to go into the sea and catch sea cucumbers, abalone, and kelp.

They are women who go into the sea to collect seafood using only their own breathing control and no mechanical devices, and their job is called 'mulji'. Haenyeo do not simply view the sea as an object of harvest, but have chosen to coexist by continuously cultivating it, and have passed down the wisdom they have acquired in the process from generation to generation.

In addition, female divers have adapted to the marine ecological environment, accumulated material skills and marine knowledge, and can be said to be eco-feminists who played a leading role in the household economy through the harvesting of marine products. They are also an example of gender equality in that they took on a leading role in the social economy and household economy along with men by forming a traditional livelihood of half farming and half fishing and a strong women's community.

In addition, Jeju Haenyeo are pioneers who expanded Jeju's economic sphere by advancing not only domestically but also overseas to Japan, China, and Russia since the late 19th century.

Life and philosophy of Jeju Haenyeo

It contains the wisdom and warm stories of Jeju haenyeo who lived with the sea.

Breathing sound

The breath sound is the sound that female divers make when they come up to the surface after diving to catch their breath, and it sounds like a whistle. It is the sound of "hooi hooi" that is made when they exhale all the carbon dioxide in their bodies and inhale oxygen while diving for about 1 to 2 minutes. Through the "breath sound," female divers can quickly take in fresh air into their bodies and continue to dive even with short breaks.

Material and Tradition

The origin of the material is thought to have originated as a spontaneous means of livelihood, and there are related records in literature such as the Samguk Sagi and Goryeosa. Haenyeo are distributed only in Korea and Japan, and Korean haenyeo are scattered along the coasts of the Korean peninsula and on several islands, but most of them are gathered in Jeju Island. Jeju haenyeo dive to a depth of about 10m for about 1~2 minutes without an oxygen supply device to collect seafood. After diving, they come up to the surface and exhale for a long time, making a unique sound similar to a whistle, which is called sumbisori. They work for about 6~7 hours a day in the summer and 4~5 hours in the winter, for about 90 days a year.

There is no special bloodline or special constitution required to become a haenyeo. The skills are learned and mastered through training from a young age, and are generally passed down within the family between mother and daughter, or mother-in-law and daughter-in-law. Jeju haenyeo are divided into three groups: Sanggun (上軍), Junggun (中軍), and Hagun (下軍) according to their diving skills and proficiency. The Sanggun haenyeo have been diving for a long time and have excellent skills, and they are the ones who know the most about reefs and seafood, and they lead the haenyeo community. Jeju haenyeo learn not only the knowledge necessary for diving from the Sanggun haenyeo, but also their duties and attitude toward life as a haenyeo.

Rubber suit

substance

Underwear

Diving suit and material tools

The traditional work clothes of haenyeo are called 'mul-ot' and consist of 'mulsojungi' for the lower garment, 'muljeoksam' for the upper garment, and 'mulsugwan' for arranging the hair. Mulsojungi is made of cotton and is designed to minimize water resistance and to be easy to move around in the water. It also has side slits so that it can be changed without being affected by changes in body shape and without revealing the body. In the early 1970s, diving suits, commonly called 'rubber suits', were introduced, and rubber suits were rapidly popularized due to increased income resulting from long working hours and improved efficiency.

The diving tools include goggles, tewak netsari, bitchang, and kkakkuri. Goggles became popular in the 20th century, and tewak is a work tool that utilizes buoyancy, and is used by haenyeo to move to the work site by placing their chests on it. Tewak has a net attached to it to store the caught seafood. Bitchang is an iron tool used to remove abalone, and kkakkuri is the most frequently used diving tool when collecting seafood in crevices of rocks, turning over stones underwater, moving around underwater, and hanging on rocks to pull the body forward. In 2008, Jeju Special Self-Governing Province designated 15 diving suits and diving tools of Jeju haenyeo as Jeju Special Self-Governing Province Folk Cultural Heritage No. 10.

Fire pit

A bulteok is a place where haenyeo change their clothes and prepare to go into the sea, and a place to rest during work. It is a circular stone wall surrounded by a fire in the center to warm their bodies. This is where information and skills related to material work, such as knowledge of materials, material skills, and location of sea fields, are passed on and acquired, and it is also a place where mutual cooperation between haenyeo is confirmed and decisions are made. There were 3~4 bulteoks in each village along the Jeju coast, and about 70 bulteoks still remain today. Around 1985, modern changing rooms were installed in each village to protect haenyeo. With the spread of improved wetsuits, such as rubber suits, changing rooms equipped with hot water bathing facilities have become essential facilities and are taking the place of bulteoks.

Changing room

Fire pit

Community Culture

Diving is sometimes a dangerous job that requires risking one's life, and fellow female divers are important in preventing each other from dangers in the water and sharing their experiences and knowledge of diving. Therefore, diving is an individual task that requires cooperation among female divers, and thus a sense of community has developed. Jeju female divers belong to a village-level fishing community and its female diver association and work together. Each fishing community has fishing rights for the village's communal fishing grounds and strictly observes the boundaries of each fishing ground, qualifications for harvesting seafood, harvesting methods and periods according to the type of seafood, etc. The female diver association makes unanimous decisions on all matters related to diving.

Jeju Haenyeo pray for the safety of their diving work, abundance of seafood, and solidarity of the community through diving rituals. Bulteo is a space where Haenyeo change clothes or rest before diving, and it is also a space where they exchange information about diving skills, information about the sea, and daily life of individuals and villages. There were three or four bulteoks in each village along the Jeju coast, and although they have been replaced by modern changing rooms today, about 70 bulteoks still remain. Jeju Haenyeo also operated Halmang Badang, a diving area exclusively for elderly Haenyeo, and Hakgyo Badang, which covered the elementary school education fees of their children, helping the socially disadvantaged and contributing to the public interest.

The Haenyeo's Faith

Among the proverbs of the haenyeo, there is a saying, “You earn in the next world and spend in this world.” This means that the work of the haenyeo is very dangerous. Therefore, the haenyeo of Jeju perform a ritual every year to pray for safety and a good catch at sea. It is called by various names such as Yeongdeunggut and Jamsugut in each village, but the content is similar.