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    • A new generation of South Korean ‘mermaids’ emerges on Jeju Island
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    A new generation of South Korean ‘mermaids’ emerges on Jeju Island

    Harry Posted on

    This article was prepared by. National Geographic Traveler (England).

    Born of volcanic fury, the far southern Jeju Island has been compared to Hawaii for its azure waters and popularity with local honeymooners. But it can be difficult for ordinary islanders to make ends meet on this outpost 50 miles from the mainland. Resourceful people take advantage of its natural larder, and for centuries haenyeo ‘sea women’ have braved the tides collecting urchins and other shellfish to put food on the table. Their numbers dwindled when new, less challenging career opportunities emerged in the 1980s and 1990s, and the remaining haenyeo are now mostly in their seventies. But recently there has been a resurgence of interest in this daunting task.

    siren song

    Go Sun-ae grew up on Biyangdo, a small island off the northwest coast of Jeju; “It’s a place where everyone fishes or dives,” he says. Haenyeo initially made a living off the land as her mother was not keen on following in her footsteps. She got married at the age of 20 and moved to Hallim in Jeju.

    Photo: Mark Parren Taylor (Top) (Left) and Photography: Mark Parren Taylor (Lower) (Right)

    ocean

    The port town overlooks Biyangdo, and since her birth island was always in sight, becoming a haenyeo was on her mind. For safety, haenyeo trains as part of a team of dozens of people in Jeju, and ten years later, she convinced her mother’s teammates to support her. He set out with them in 1998.

    Photo: Mark Parren Taylor

    woman holding a fishing net

    Today he is 55 years old and a junggun (middle tier) haenyeo – the youngest in Biyangdo. “Some of the women are recovering,” he says, “one is just over 90. At the beginning of the day the backs are stiff and the knees are up. But when they get into the water they suddenly become young again.” Go Sun-ae believes their vitality comes from their competitiveness “The best days are when you bring back the biggest load. Yesterday my net weighed 130 lbs.

    Photo: Mark Parren Taylor

    rock the boat

    woman cooking

    Lee Yu-jeong’s mother, a farmer, cried for days when she told her daughter that she wanted to become a haenyeo. His father is a fisherman, but his boat provides shelter from the elements. “You are at the mercy of the sea,” his mother told him. “Unpredictable, you have no shelter.” But Lee Yu-jeong had a plan: combine her two dreams into a fulfilling ‘surf and turf’ career. And so, in addition to diving, he now runs a barbecue restaurant in southwestern Jeju City.

    Photo: Mark Parren Taylor

    sea ​​urchin

    aenyeo-gogi (‘Haenyeo Meat’) offers new twists on traditional island cuisine: pork from the Jeju Black, a native breed of dark-skinned pigs, as well as the freshest seafood one can muster. It’s been five years since he graduated from Hansupul Haenyeo School, one of two state-supported education centers, at the age of 31. The school only accepts 30 students each year for its professional diver course, and applicants must get the approval of each member to join the haenyeo team. “Traditional divers sometimes see beginners as a threat; It may take effort to convince skeptics that you will be a reliable colleague, will not take on an unfair share of the daily burden, and will not rock the boat. ”

    Photo: Mark Parren Taylor

    family values

    mother and daughter

    Headstrong and independent, Ko Ryo-jin trained herself to become haenyeo. The 39-year-old, whose story echoes that of both his mother and grandmother, did not consider diving until his mid-twenties. His mother, Pak Suk-lee (also self-taught), suggested it as a therapeutic distraction after Ko Ryo-jin fell into depression a decade ago.

    Photo: Mark Parren Taylor

    It was an epiphany and spurred her to both prove herself as a licensed haenyeo and open Pyeongdae Seongge Guksu, a jointly owned restaurant. It takes its name from the noodle dish it specializes in, which includes sea urchin (seongge) roe, and there are long queues to get a seat at one of the six tables.

    Photo: Mark Parren Taylor (Top) (Left) and Photography: Mark Parren Taylor (Lower) (Right)

    ocean

    Ko Ryo-jin’s team and two other haenyeo pods in the east coast village of Pyeongdae supply the restaurant with its signature ingredients; Three teams must secure 220 lbs each day during the harvest season. Mother and daughter go out six days a week, from July to September, to specifically collect sea urchins: Each diving session begins and ends with an hour-long swim off the rocky shore of the village. Ko Ryo-jin says: “It’s physically difficult but mentally easy. “These are clear waters and on days when the tides are gentle, I can let go of everything when I’m there.”

    Photo: Mark Parren Taylor

    Early riser

    Lim Jeong-soon

    Lim Jeong-soon is juggling work. After starting tending to their small farm with her husband at 6 a.m., the 66-year-old puts on her wetsuit and dives for up to six hours in search of shells, abalone and sea urchins. Later in the day, he reaches for his apron at Haenyeo Kitchen, a restaurant in the northeastern coastal village of Bukchon where he serves as head chef. Sometimes during his tenure here, he tells ocean stories to restaurants while wearing a traditional white woven haenyeo tunic.

    Photo: Mark Parren Taylor

    woman carrying sea urchins and shells

    Although he started as haenyeo relatively late at age 20, he quickly achieved top-level sanggun status. High-level haenyeos can dive to depths of 20 meters with a single breath, which can last up to five minutes. Lim Jeong-soon is the youngest of five siblings, and her mother and sisters were all divers. From an early age they encouraged him to follow a different path, but his options were limited and he had a young family to feed. These days, his two adult sons are no longer dependent on him, so the money he earns from diving goes further.

    Photo: Mark Parren Taylor

    new beginnings

    women carrying sea urchins

    “At first I was reluctant to tell people that I was trained as a haenyeo,” admits Shin Hye-lim, 36, “in case they thought my biotechnology venture on the mainland had failed.” He moved to Jeju several years ago in response to a growing yearning for a more conscious, non-consumerist lifestyle. “My parents were worried about my safety, but more than anything, they wanted me to be happy,” he says.

    Photo: Mark Parren Taylor

    swimming women

    As part of her studies at Haenyeo School, Beophwan interned with a small team in the village of Namwon, located about nine miles east of Seogwipo, Jeju’s second city on the south coast. With them he learned to use handfuls of wormwood leaves to wipe the inside of his glasses; He says it’s partly to prevent glasses from fogging and partly for the soothing herbal scent. The internship lasted three months, but he has still been here for a year and is settling here, albeit for a long time. “This is my home, I am an islander now,” he says.

    Photo: Mark Parren Taylor

    Published in the South Korea guide distributed with the November 2024 issue. National Geographic Traveler (England).

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    Harry
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