TONGYEONG, Nov. 10 (Korea Bizwire) — The Coast Guard has recently gained media attention for visiting “haenyeo” to learn about their practices and traditional know-how.
Haenyeo (Sea Women) in Korean refers to female divers who make their living harvesting seafood by hand from the ocean floor without breathing equipment.
The Tongyeong Coast Guard hosted a program on Tuesday where officers met with eight haenyeo working near the coast of Tongyeong, South Gyeongsang Province.
The haenyeo dive 5 to 10 meters underwater for up to two minutes, wearing rubber suits only, to collect abalone and conches.
Coast Guard officers learned about navigation underwater, breathing techniques and maintaining body temperature from the female divers with 30 to 40 years of underwater experience.
The officers taught the female divers about heart resuscitation and hypothermia treatment in emergency situations.
Scuba diving equipment is essential for Coast Guard divers going underwater, and there was no one better than the haenyeo to learn about going underwater without any equipment, the Coast Guard said.
Image Credit: Tongyeong Coast Guard / photonews@koreabizwire.com
