Haenyeo

From Wikipedia
Haenyeo
tradition
McCune-Reischauer romanizationHaenyŏ Edit
Revised romanizationHaenyeo Edit
CountrySouth Korea Edit
Dem locate for de administrative territorial entity insydJeju Island Edit
Country of originSouth Korea Edit
Intangible cultural heritage statusRepresentative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, National Intangible Cultural Heritage in South Korea Edit
Described at URLhttps://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/01068, https://ich.unesco.org/fr/RL/01068, https://ich.unesco.org/es/RL/01068, https://english.cha.go.kr/chaen/search/selectGeneralSearchDetail.do?mn=EN_02_02&sCcebKdcd=17&ccebAsno=01320000&sCcebCtcd=ZZ&pageIndex=1&ccebKdcd=17&ccebCtcd=, https://www.heritage.go.kr/heri/cul/culSelectDetail.do?ccbaCpno=127ZZ01320000 Edit
Sam group of Haenyeo women for wetsuits wey dey dive

Haenyeo (wey dem sana dey spell am haenyo) (Hangul: 해녀; lit. "sea women") be female divers wey dey South Korean province of Jeju, wey dema livelihood dey consist of harvesting sam variety of mollusks, seaweed, den sea life from de ocean. Known for dema independent spirit, iron will den determination, haenyeo be representative of de semi-matriarchal family structure of Jeju.[1][2][3]

Dema Activities[edit | edit source]

Traditionally, girls start dey train as haenyeo as na dem be 11 years old. Beginning for shallow water insyd, trainees work dema way up go more challenging depths. Afta about seven years of training, dem consider sam girl as "full-fledged" haenyeo.[4] Today, de oldest haenyeo be ova 80 years old, wey edey divie for more than 66 years.[5]

All togeda, de tools of sam haenyeo dey consist of sam wetsuit, diving mask, fins,[6] gloves, chest weights (wey go assist diving) sam L-shaped weeding hoe, den sam net wey dem attach plus sam flotation device.[5] De haenyeo stash dema catch for dese nets insyd till dem go finish for de day.[5]

Dema History[edit | edit source]

Jeju ein diving tradition dey date back go 434 AD.[4] Originally, na diving be sam exclusively male profession, plus de exception of women wey work alongside dema husbands.[4] De first mention of female divers for literature insyd no dey cam till de 17th century, if sam monograph of Jeju geography describe dem as jamnyeo (literally "diving women").[4]

Declining numbers[edit | edit source]

Like many oda historical cultural practices, de sea-diving industry fall victim give industrialisation. Beginning for de 1960s insyd, de Korean government dey sought ways so say ego jumpstart de country ein economy for every province insyd. Secof na Jeju no be sam practical place wey u go fi build factories, de Korean government decide say ego turn am go sam exporter of mandarin oranges. By 1969 , na sam majority of rural workers join dis new industry. Additionally, na dem dedicate about 2% of all land wey dey Jeju insyd give farming mandarin oranges. For 1970s insyd, de government launch anoda program so say ego bolster Jeju ein tourism industry. By 1978, na tourism surpass agriculture as de island ein largest industry.[7]

For society insyd[edit | edit source]

Secof chaw families rely for de haenyeo top for majority of dema income, sam semi-matriarchal society develop for Jeju top plus de haenyeo for de head of de household top.[7][8] For de tiny islets off de coast of Jeju top, such as Mara Island, wer na sea-diving be de sole source of income, na dem fully dey realize dis reversal of traditional gender roles; men would look after the children and go shopping while the women would bring in money for the family.[8] Oda manifestations of Jeju ein unique society dey include men wey dey pay dowry give de family of de bride (sam reversal of de custom for de Korean mainland top) den families wey dey celebrate de birth of girls ova de birth of boys.[9][10]

Gallery[edit | edit source]

For popular culture insyd[edit | edit source]

  • My Mother, de Mermaid- 2004 film about sam moda (wey na ebe haenyeo) den ein daughter.
  • Tamra, de Island- 2009 television series set for 17th century insyd, wey de heroine be haenyeo.
  • Swallow de Sun- 2009 television series wey de protagonist ein mummy be haenyeo.
  • Haenyeo: Women of de Sea- 2013 short film about Chewar Park, sam still active 82-year-old haenyeo diver. Examining ein daily routine as well as ein past, Park sheds light for dis unique matriarchal culture top wey get changed little since de 19th century.
  • My Neighbor, Charles - 2015, episodes 24, 25, den 26 (documentary TV series); sam Japanese immigrant train say ego cam turn sam haenyeo
  • Canola- 2016 film starring Youn Yuh-jung as sam elderly sanggun haenyo (captain of de seawomen).
  • Our Blues- 2022 Korean drama series wey dey portray de work atmosphere between haenyeos of different ages.
  • Episode 1 of South Korea: Earth's Hidden Wilderness, BBC 2018, dey include sam feature for haenyeo free-diving for conches, den interview one dem say ebe 94 years.
  • White Chrysanthemum, sam 2018 novel by Korean-American author Mary Lynn Bracht wey dey feature sam haenyeo wey dem take as sam comfort woman by de Japanese military for World War II insyd.
  • De Island of Sea Women, sam 2019 novel by American author Lisa See, ebe about de friendship den lives of two haenyeo for Japanese occupation of Korea tym insyd.
  • Soft Sounds from Another Planet - 2017 album by Japanese Breakfast wey dey reference Jeju-do wey edey use haenyeo as sam metaphor, specifically de song "Diving Woman."
  • Endlings - a 2018/2019 play by Celine Song, wey dey portray three elderly haenyeo den touch for themes of family, immigration, den theater top. De play receive ein debut for Boston's American Repertory Theater for February 2019 insyd, plus anoda production for de off-Broadway New York Theatre Workshop for February 2020 insyd.
  • Three Moons of Biyangdo, release for 2022 insyd, be sam documentary about three sisters Kyung-Mi, Geum-Mi den Jeong-Mi wey dey live for Biyangdo island top, off Jeju's island wey dey freedive togeda as haenyeos for de past 25 years. Now for dema sixties, dem be part of de last of dema line. Writer/Director: Lucy McIntosh den Jon Cleave. Producers Jon Cleave den Jay Kim.
  • For de television adaptation of Pachinko insyd, Kim Sunja dey work as sam haenyeo as sam young girl.

References[edit | edit source]

  1. "Woman Power Deep Below the Sea". Business Korea. January 2003.
  2. "Families of the World: Korea (1975)". YouTube.
  3. "Documentary on 12 Year Old Korean Haenyeo Diver 1975". YouTube.
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Hong, S.K. (1965). "Hae-nyo, the diving women of Korea". In Rahn, H.; Yokoyama, T. (eds.). Physiology of Breath-Hold Diving and the Ama of Japan. United States: National Academy of Sciences - National Research Council. pp. 99–112. ISBN 0-309-01341-0. Archived from the original on December 29, 2010. Retrieved October 6, 2013.
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 Hutchens, Jeff (March 25, 2013). "The Diving Women of Jeju (Part 1)" (Video). YouTube. Imagine Your Korea.
  6. Haenyeo, Sea Women of Korea's Jeju Island Part I
  7. 7.0 7.1 Gwon, Gwi-Sook (2015). "Changing labor processes of women's work: the haenyo of Jeju Island". Korean Studies. 29: 114–136. doi:10.1353/ks.2006.0006.
  8. 8.0 8.1 "Episode 5: Haenyeo Female Divers" (Video). YouTube. Travel Tours Korea LA18. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved November 8, 2015
  9. Sang-hun, Choe (March 29, 2014). "Hardy Divers in Korea Strait, 'Sea Women' Are Dwindling". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved November 8, 2015
  10. "The Mermaids of Jeju – Korean Female Divers Haenyeo | Official Korea Tourism Organization". english.visitkorea.or.kr. Archived from the original on August 14, 2014. Retrieved November 8, 2015.