010 · Jeju Haenyeo — The Women Who Breathe with the Sea
UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage | The Courage, Wisdom, and Living Traditions of Jeju’s Women Divers
UNESCO KOREA | JEJU ISLAND | INSCRIBED IN 2016
Some treasures are buried in the earth. Others are buried in memory. Both deserve to be brought into the light.
On Jeju Island, however, some of the most extraordinary treasures have always been hidden beneath the sea.
For generations, women have entered the cold waters surrounding this volcanic island, holding their breath as they descend in search of the ocean’s gifts.
They are known as the haenyeo (해녀) — the women of the sea.
Their lives are stories of extraordinary courage, physical endurance, intimate knowledge of nature, and a powerful tradition of community.
During my journey across Jeju Island, I visited the Jeju Haenyeo Museum in Gujwa-eup, near the coastal village of Sehwa.
I had come to learn about a remarkable part of Korea’s cultural heritage.
But the story of the haenyeo was far greater than the history of a traditional occupation.
It was a story of women who supported families, sustained communities, and passed their knowledge from one generation to the next.
And it was a story that the world had finally recognized.
01 · The Women of the Sea
The Korean word haenyeo (해녀) literally means “sea women.”
Yet the simplicity of the name conceals an extraordinary way of life.
Unlike scuba divers, haenyeo traditionally enter the water without underwater breathing equipment.
They dive while holding their breath, gathering marine products such as abalone, sea urchins, and other shellfish from the rocky seabed.
This practice is known as muljil (물질).
Their work demands far more than the ability to swim.
They must understand the tides, currents, underwater terrain, weather conditions, and seasonal changes in marine life.
They must know when the sea is safe.
They must know when to return.
And above all, they must learn to respect the ocean.
Some experienced haenyeo have continued diving into their seventies and eighties.
Their knowledge has been accumulated through decades of practice, observation, and shared experience.
To an outsider, the sea may appear vast and mysterious.
To the haenyeo, it is a living environment whose rhythms must be understood.
02 · A Life Beneath the Waves
Imagine standing at the edge of the sea on a cold morning.
The wind blows across the volcanic rocks.
The waves rise and fall.
Beyond the shoreline lies the underwater world where the day’s work will take place.
For generations of Jeju women, entering that water was not a recreational adventure.
It was a livelihood.
Before modern wetsuits became common, haenyeo worked in traditional cotton diving garments, facing the cold with limited protection.
Their equipment gradually changed over time, but the fundamental challenge remained the same.
Every descent required concentration, strength, and judgment.
Among the most recognizable tools of the haenyeo is the tewak (테왁), a floating device that helps support the diver at the surface.
Attached to it is a net used to carry the day’s harvest, commonly called a mangsari (망사리).
Other tools, such as the bitchang (빗창) and kkakkuri (까꾸리), help divers gather marine products from rocks and crevices.
These simple objects represent generations of practical knowledge.
Each tool has a purpose.
Each movement has been learned through experience.
And each successful return to the surface is part of the continuing relationship between the haenyeo and the sea.
03 · Sumbisori — The Sound of Returning to Life
There is a sound associated with the haenyeo that carries a meaning far beyond ordinary speech.
It is called sumbisori (숨비소리).
After holding their breath underwater, haenyeo return to the surface and release their breath with a distinctive whistle-like sound.
It is part of their breathing technique, a sound born from the physical demands of diving.
Yet to someone listening from the shore, it can seem almost like the voice of the sea itself.
A breath released.
A moment of recovery.
A sign that the diver has returned.
I find something deeply moving in this simple sound.
We often celebrate great human achievements through monuments, buildings, and written records.
But sometimes, the essence of a cultural tradition survives in something as fleeting as a breath.
The sumbisori cannot be held in the hand.
It cannot be preserved like a stone artifact.
It belongs to the living human body.
And that is precisely why it matters.
04 · The Spirit of Community
The haenyeo tradition is not simply a collection of individual diving skills.
It is also a culture of cooperation.
Within haenyeo communities, divers have traditionally been recognized according to their experience and abilities.
The terms hagun (하군), junggun (중군), and sanggun (상군) refer to different levels of diving skill.
Experienced divers help guide those who are less experienced.
Knowledge is shared.
Safety is a collective responsibility.
The sea may provide a livelihood, but it also presents dangers that no individual can entirely control.
This is one reason the haenyeo community has developed strong traditions of mutual assistance.
An important place in this culture is the bulteok (불턱).
Traditionally, a bulteok was a sheltered gathering place near the shore where haenyeo could change clothes, warm themselves around a fire, rest, and exchange information.
It was much more than a practical shelter.
It was a place where experience was shared, younger women learned from their elders, and the community maintained its bonds.
Within these modest spaces, knowledge passed from one generation to another.
A grandmother’s advice.
An experienced diver’s warning.
A story about the changing currents.
Such knowledge rarely appears in formal textbooks.
Yet it can be essential to survival.
05 · Mothers, Daughters, and the Weight of the Sea
For many Jeju families, the work of the haenyeo was closely connected to everyday survival.
The women entered the sea to earn a living.
They also cared for children, maintained households, and participated in village life.
Their work helped sustain family economies and contributed to the distinctive social character of Jeju Island.
The image of the haenyeo is therefore inseparable from the image of the mother.
A woman who enters the sea despite its dangers.
A woman who returns home carrying the day’s harvest.
A woman who carries responsibilities both beneath the water and on land.
But the story is not merely one of hardship.
It is also a story of economic independence, expertise, and the authority that women gained through their labor and community roles.
The haenyeo were not passive figures in Jeju’s history.
They were active participants in shaping it.
Their lives remind us that cultural heritage is often created not by kings or rulers, but by ordinary people whose work sustains a society.
And among those people, the women of Jeju deserve a place of particular honor.
06 · When the Women of Jeju Stood Together
The strength of Jeju’s haenyeo was not limited to their work beneath the waves.
It also appeared in their willingness to defend their livelihoods and dignity.
In the early 1930s, Jeju haenyeo organized protests against unfair conditions surrounding the collection and sale of marine products during the Japanese colonial period.
The movement became an important chapter in the history of women’s collective action and anti-colonial resistance on Jeju Island.
These women understood the value of their labor.
They understood the power of solidarity.
And they demonstrated that the courage required to face the sea could also become the courage to confront injustice.
Near the Jeju Haenyeo Museum, the history of the haenyeo movement is commemorated through memorials and local historical interpretation.
Remembering this history gives the haenyeo story another dimension.
They were not only skilled divers.
They were women who asserted their place in society.
07 · UNESCO Recognition — A Living Heritage of Humanity
In 2016, the Culture of Jeju Haenyeo (Women Divers) was inscribed on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
This recognition was not simply an award for extraordinary diving skills.
It acknowledged an entire living cultural tradition.
The knowledge of the marine environment.
The methods of gathering seafood.
The sharing of skills across generations.
The community practices that support cooperation and safety.
And the distinctive identity that the haenyeo have helped shape on Jeju Island.
Unlike a palace, a temple, or a historic monument, intangible cultural heritage cannot be preserved solely by protecting a physical structure.
It survives through people.
Through teaching.
Through practice.
Through memory.
And through the willingness of younger generations to carry it forward.
The Jeju Haenyeo Museum is one of the institutions that help document and transmit this heritage.
But the heritage itself does not reside within the museum walls.
It lives wherever the traditions of the haenyeo continue.
08 · The Sea Must Also Be Protected
There is another important dimension to the haenyeo tradition.
It is the relationship between livelihood and environmental responsibility.
For generations, haenyeo communities have depended on the health of the marine environment.
Their knowledge includes an understanding of seasonal changes, marine habitats, and the importance of managing local resources.
Traditional community practices have contributed to more sustainable methods of harvesting seafood.
This does not mean that the sea is free from modern environmental pressures.
Climate change, changing marine ecosystems, and the difficulty of passing demanding diving skills to younger generations all raise questions about the future of this living heritage.
The challenge is therefore not only to remember the haenyeo of the past.
It is to support the people and environments that allow their culture to continue.
A living heritage needs a living sea.
09 · At the Jeju Haenyeo Museum
A museum can preserve objects, photographs, documents, and recorded voices.
But its deeper purpose is to help us understand the human lives behind them.
The Jeju Haenyeo Museum, located near Sehwa on the northeastern coast of Jeju Island, presents the history, work, and everyday culture of the island’s women divers.
Its exhibitions introduce traditional diving equipment, communal spaces, family life, and the changing conditions of haenyeo work.
Together, these displays reveal a culture shaped by both the sea and the land.
A diving tool is no longer merely an object.
It becomes evidence of ingenuity.
A traditional garment becomes a reminder of physical hardship.
A photograph of an elderly diver becomes a portrait of perseverance.
And a reconstructed communal space becomes a reminder that the strength of the haenyeo has always rested partly in their relationships with one another.
For international visitors, the museum offers an opportunity to look beyond Jeju’s spectacular natural scenery and encounter the people whose lives have helped define the island.
Jeju is not only a landscape of volcanic mountains, lava caves, and dramatic coastlines.
It is also a place of human stories.
Stories that deserve to be remembered.
10 · The Women Who Breathe with the Sea
As I reflect on the story of the haenyeo, one image remains especially powerful.
A woman rises from the sea.
She takes a breath.
Then, after a moment of rest, she prepares to descend again.
It is a simple image.
Yet within it lies an entire history of labor, courage, knowledge, and endurance.
The world often celebrates extraordinary achievements that are visible from a distance.
Great buildings.
Monumental works of art.
Spectacular landscapes.
But the haenyeo remind us that some of humanity’s most remarkable achievements are found in ordinary lives repeated across generations.
The strength of a mother.
The wisdom of an elder.
The trust between companions.
The knowledge of when to enter the sea and when to return.
These are not things that can be measured by the height of a monument.
They are the foundations of a living culture.
And they are the reason the women of Jeju belong to the heritage of humanity.
A Letter to the Travelers of Jeju
Dear Traveler,
When you visit Jeju Island, you may first be drawn to its mountains, waterfalls, and beautiful coastlines.
But I hope you will also take time to discover the lives of the people who have called this island home.
Visit the Jeju Haenyeo Museum.
Learn about the women who entered the sea without breathing equipment.
Think of the generations who carried their knowledge forward.
And when you stand beside the ocean, remember that its beauty has always been accompanied by human labor, sacrifice, and hope.
The haenyeo are not merely figures from Jeju’s past.
They are part of its living identity.
And their story is one that deserves to travel far beyond the shores of Korea.
Some treasures are buried in the earth. Others are buried in memory. Both deserve to be brought into the light.
A Proud Storyteller of Seoul Korea ᴳ.
Gupiter’s World — Meet Korea in Many Ways.
Heritage Reference
Official UNESCO Heritage Name: Culture of Jeju Haenyeo (Women Divers)
UNESCO Classification: Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity
Year of Inscription: 2016
Country: Republic of Korea
Fieldwork Location: Jeju Haenyeo Museum, Gujwa-eup, Jeju Island
Official UNESCO Reference: https://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/culture-of-jeju-haenyeo-women-divers-01068
