JEJU, Jun. 7 (Korea Bizwire) – For the next few weeks, visitors to the Haenyeo Museum on the resort island of Jeju can glimpse into the vanishing world of the region’s celebrated free-diving women through the lens of Peter Ashley Lee, a 42-year-old photographer. Lee’s exhibition, “The Last Mermaid,” which opened on June 4 and runs [...]
JEJU, Nov. 17 (Korea Bizwire) – A national association is set to be established next year to unite haenyeo – female divers who harvest seafood – from across the country, including those who have relocated from Jeju to engage in muljjil (diving into the ocean to harvest seafood) in other areas. Jeju Island is gearing up [...]
JEJU, May 18 (Korea Bizwire) — Jeju Island’s government announced on Wednesday its plans to increase the “Haenyeo Retirement Allowance” provided to elderly Jeju haenyeo, female divers who harvest a variety of sea life, upon their retirement. The proposed amendment to the ‘Ordinance on the Preservation and Fostering of Jeju Haenyeo Fishery’ includes lowering the [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 31 (Korea Bizwire) — More than half of Korean women divers, known as “haenyeo,” from the east coast of South Korea are over 70 years of age, a survey showed Monday. The word haenyeo refers to women who make their living harvesting seafood by hand from the ocean floor without breathing equipment. The [...]
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 [...]
JEJU, May 20 (Korea Bizwire) — A ban on unlicensed harvesting of marine life at night has invited strong protest from a group of hobbyists who called the move “unconstitutional.” Dozens of hobbyists and leisure industry workers held a press conference on the island earlier this week to demand the provincial government of Jeju scrap [...]
GYEONGJU, March 30 (Korea Bizwire) — An abandoned refrigerated warehouse in a local fishing village will be renovated into a special kitchen for “haenyeo,” or female divers. Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province announced Monday that the project has been approved by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, with renovations of the old warehouse in Eupcheon Port [...]
JEJU, Jan. 22 (Korea Bizwire) — Haenyeo, or female divers on Jeju Island, have dropped in number by 4.5 percent compared to the previous year. Jeju City reported that there were 2,141 haenyeo as of December, down by 4.5 percent since last year (2,241 people). The number of haenyeo has dropped as those who passed [...]
JEJU, Aug. 5 (Korea Bizwire) — A scientific study by a group of high school students is garnering attention as it identified the secret behind the physical strength of female divers on South Korea’s resort island of Jeju, or “haenyeo,” through a genetic analysis. Three students from Namnyeong High School on Jeju Island revealed on [...]
JEJU, Feb. 13 (Korea Bizwire) — Jeju haenyeo – female divers who are designated as a UNESCO World Heritage – are declining in number due to their aging population. The Jeju provincial government said Wednesday that there were a total of 3,820 haenyeo in the province as of the end of last year, down 2 [...]