Haenyo (Diving Women) floats, Jeju, Korea

Posted by Aidan Hammond (Seoul, South Korea) on 26 February 2007 in Lifestyle & Culture and Portfolio.

Still away travelling and will try to respond to comments in a few weeks. Here are some photos in the meantime.

Jeju is well-known in Korea for the Haenyeo (diving women) who live and dive along the whole coast of the island. When looking out to sea you can see these white or orange buoys floating. If you look carefully, you can sometimes see the flippers of one of the women as she turns to dive down. Most of the women work within a kind of cooperative, which can usually be identified by this kind of equipment hanging on the walls of a building close to the sea shore.

Although most divers make a pretty good wage, very few young women are attracted to this kind of work. I think the average age of the divers is late 40's, while the youngest is in her late 30's. Many speculate that this occupation, and one of the quintessential tourism images of Jeju Island, will disappear in the next decade or so.

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