TRADITION RUNS DEEP

Along the coastline of Jeju Island in South Korea, elderly women in heavy, homemade rubber suits and makeshift tempered-glass goggles, armed with little more than primitive tools and tangled fishing nets, free dive to harvest seaweed and fish for sea cucumbers, urchins, abalone and other seafood. These women are known as haenyeo, which translates to “sea women”, and some of them are well into their 80s.

Depending on weather and tide conditions, haenyeo dive between six to eight hours a day, one to two minutes per dive, approximately 18 days per month. It’s dangerous work—in 2014, nine haenyeo died while diving—but an old saying keeps them going: “Making money in hell to support children in the world.”

Based on their abilities, haenyeo are divided into three groups. The top level includes the most experienced divers, who work in deeper, more treacherous waters. The bottom two groups include beginners and the elderly who work in shallower areas.

Today, there are much easier ways to fish for a living. But shortcuts don’t appeal to haenyeo, affectionately known to locals as the “grandmothers of the sea”.

Being a haenyeo is more than just a way for these women to support their families; it is an honourable tradition and a symbol of rebellion against the country’s otherwise rigidly patriarchal society. They wear their weathered faces like medals of dedication and independence.

Despite growing interest in this unique subculture, their numbers are dwindling. According to the island’s Haenyeo Museum, in the 1960s there were some 23,000 haenyeo working around Jeju. Today, fewer than 5,000 remain.