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    • On Jeju Island, a new generation of South Korean “mermaids” emerges
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    On Jeju Island, a new generation of South Korean “mermaids” emerges

    Pabio Posted on

    This article was produced by National Geographic Traveler (UNITED KINGDOM).

    Born from volcanic fury, the southernmost island of Jeju has been compared to Hawaii for its azure waters and popularity with local honeymooners. But for ordinary islanders, it can be difficult to make ends meet in this outpost 50 miles from the mainland. The resourceful have exploited its natural larder, and for centuries haenyeo “sea women” have braved ocean currents by harvesting sea urchins and other shellfish to put food on the table. When new, less strenuous career opportunities presented themselves in the 1980s and 1990s, their numbers dwindled and the remaining haenyeo are now mostly in their sixties. But recently, we have noticed a renewed interest in this colossal work.

    Song of the sirens

    Go Sun-ae grew up on Biyangdo, a small island just off the northwest coast of Jeju – “a place where everyone fishes or dives,” she says. She initially led a life on earth, as her haenyeo mother did not like her following in her footsteps. Aged 20, she got married and moved to Hallim in Jeju.

    Photography by Mark Parren Taylor (High) (LEFT) and photography by Mark Parren Taylor (Down) (RIGHT)

    ocean

    The port city overlooks Biyangdo, and with his home island still in sight, becoming haenyeo was on his mind. For safety reasons, the haenyeo work as part of a team, which numbers dozens of people in Jeju, and a decade later she convinced her mother’s teammates to support her. She left to join them in 1998.

    Photography by Mark Parren Taylor

    woman holding a fishing net

    Today, she is 55 years old and a haenyeo junggun (intermediate level), the youngest in Biyangdo. “Some women are getting better,” she said, “one of them is just 90 years old. At the start of the day, your back is stiff and your knees are tense. But when they are in the water, they become young again. » Go Sun-ae believes that their vitality is based on competitiveness. “The best days are when we bring in the biggest load. Yesterday my net weighed 130 pounds.

    Photography by Mark Parren Taylor

    Rock the boat

    woman cooking

    Lee Yu-jeong’s mother, a farmer, sobbed for days when she was told her daughter wanted to become a haenyeo. His father is a fisherman, but his boat serves as his refuge from the elements. “You are at the mercy of the sea,” his mother told him. “It’s unpredictable, you have no shelter.” But Lee Yu-jeong had a plan: to merge his two dreams into a fulfilling career in surf and turf. So, along with diving, she now runs a barbecue restaurant in the southwest of Jeju City.

    Photography by Mark Parren Taylor

    sea ​​urchin

    aenyeo-gogi (“Haenyeo Meat”) offers new twists on the island’s traditional cuisine: the freshest seafood she can harvest alongside Jeju Black pork, an indigenous breed of skinned pigs dark. It has been five years since she graduated, at the age of 31, from the Hansupul Haenyeo School, one of two government-sponsored training centers. The school only accepts 30 students each year in its professional divers course, and applicants must then obtain approval from each member to join a haenyeo team. “Experienced divers sometimes see beginners as a threat: it can be difficult to convince skeptics that you will be a reliable colleague, that you will not take an unfair part of the day, that you will not make waves. »

    Photography by Mark Parren Taylor

    Family values

    mother and daughter

    Stubborn and independent, Ko Ryo-jin trained to become a haenyeo. With a story that echoes that of her mother and grandmother, the 39-year-old hadn’t thought about diving until well into her twenties. His mother Pak Suk-lee (also self-taught) suggested it as a therapeutic distraction after Ko Ryo-jin suffered a bout of depression ten years ago.

    Photography by Mark Parren Taylor

    It was a revelation – and it inspired her to establish herself as a licensed haenyeo and open a co-owned restaurant, Pyeongdae Seongge Guksu. It gets its name from the noodle dish it specializes in – made from sea urchin roe (seongge) – and there are long queues for a place at one of six tables.

    Photography by Mark Parren Taylor (High) (LEFT) and photography by Mark Parren Taylor (Down) (RIGHT)

    ocean

    Ko Ryo-jin’s team, along with the two other haenyeo pods in Pyeongdae village on the east coast, supply the restaurant with its signature ingredient; During harvest season, the three teams must secure 220 pounds each day. From July to September, mother and daughter go six days a week to fish exclusively for sea urchins: each diving session begins and ends with an hour of swimming from the village’s rocky coast. “It’s physically hard,” says Ko Ryo-jin, “but it’s easy on the mind. These are clean waters, and on days when the tides are gentle, I can just let it all out when I’m out there.

    Photography by Mark Parren Taylor

    Early riser

    Lim Jeong-soon

    Lim Jeong-soon juggles work. After starting at 6 a.m. tending her small farm with her husband, this 66-year-old woman puts on her wetsuit and dives for up to six hours to fish for conch, abalone and sea urchin. Later in the day, she takes her apron at Haenyeo Kitchen, a restaurant in the village of Bukchon on the northeast coast, where she is head chef. Sometimes in her role here, she tells diners stories about the ocean, dressed in the traditional white woven haenyeo tunic.

    Photography by Mark Parren Taylor

    woman carrying sea urchins and shells

    Although she began as a haenyeo relatively late in life, at the age of 20, she quickly rose to the status of a prominent sanggun. High-level haenyeo are capable of diving to depths of 20 m with a single breath that can last up to five minutes. Lim Jeong-soon is the youngest of five siblings, and her mother and sisters were all divers. They pushed her from a young age to follow a different path, but she had few options and a young family to support. Today, her two adult sons no longer depend on her, so the money she earns from diving goes further.

    Photography by Mark Parren Taylor

    New beginnings

    women carrying sea urchins

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

    Photography by Mark Parren Taylor

    women swimming

    As part of her training at Beophwan Haenyeo School, she interned with a small team in Namwon Village, located about 15 kilometers east of Seogwipo, Jeju’s second city, on the south coast. With them, she learned to use handfuls of mugwort leaves to wipe the inside of her glasses, partly to prevent fogging, she said, and partly for the relaxing scent of the herbs. The internship lasted three months, but she’s still here a year later and is now settling in for the long term. She says: “This is my home, I’m an islander now.” »

    Photography by Mark Parren Taylor

    Published in the South Korea guide, distributed with the November 2024 issue of National Geographic Traveler (UNITED KINGDOM).

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