Haenyeo divers of South Korea

‘I was proud of myself when I felt success as a haenyeo’

Haenyeo Joungja Hyun at work, 2017. Photographer Hyungsun Kim

History surfaces in an international education collaboration

In March the museum launched a powerful exhibition about the haenyeo free divers of South Korea. An accompanying international education program has revealed personal links and extended our understanding of this ancient cultural practice. By Daina Fletcher and Rita Kusevskis-Hayes.

HAENYEO: THE SEA WOMEN OF JEJU ISLAND is a photographic exhibition featuring life-size portraits of female free divers by Korean artist Hyungsun Kim (see article in Signals 134, March 2021). It forms part of a program of international collaborations run by the museum to promote and strengthen cultural links across the world’s oceans in stories about sea-based cultures. While the exhibition was being installed, our education team was delivering a series of virtual cultural and language exchange programs in the Republic of South Korea, in partnership with the Asia ConneXions team at the University of New England (UNE). The program connects Australian classrooms, including the museum’s, with schools primarily in South Korea and also in Japan, China and Indonesia. The museum’s collaboration with UNE was established five years ago, with a handful of virtual programs being presented twice a year. The opportunity for high school students to connect with the museum on an international level became even more important during 2020, when schools and museums across the world were in COVID-19 lockdown. In 2021 there are 30 Australian schools connecting with South Korean schools for classes about Australian and Korean culture. So far this year, some 120 students from years 9 to 12 have been involved in virtual sessions with the museum’s Education team. Of particular note has been the involvement of Jeju Jungang Girls High School on the island of Jeju, where the haenyeo divers work. This school participated in a class focusing on Indigenous history and the impact of James Cook and the British First Fleet, during which student Jihye Yang revealed that her great-grandmother had been a haenyeo. This led to questions of place and identity, and with the permission of the school, Ms Jihye conducted and translated an interview with Joungja Hyun, aged 78. Ms Joungja, from Biyangdo island, Jeju Province, was one of her great-grandmother’s fellow haenyeo. The results of her interview provide a first-hand account of the experiences of these remarkable women divers, unlocking stories behind the portraits by Hyungsun Kim in the exhibition.

Jihye Yang: When do you and your friends (haenyeo) usually dive? Do you have any particular time to dive? Joungja Hyun: There is no particular time for us to dive into the sea. We usually go into the sea at low tide or when the sea is calm. We come out from the sea when we feel too cold or feel the physical limitation. Season doesn’t affect our routine to dive. We dive almost every day.

What motivated you to be a haenyeo? From whom did you learn to dive? I had no right to choose it. As a matter of fact, we, most of the woman divers at that time, did not have any choice. We did not have TVs or any particular toys to play with. The closest playground was the sea. I swam and played with my friends at the sea. Most of my memories of my childhood are related to the sea. I got to become a haenyeo for no apparent reason. At my childhood, most girls should earn money to support their families, so they had to dive and became a haenyeo. I took no class to learn to dive. Girls at my age learnt to dive from their mother or grandmother. Sometimes older sisters helped the younger or friends helped one another. Recently there have appeared a few schools [that] raise and educate haenyeo.

What do you think life is like as a haenyeo? It is a very tough life. However, I could raise my children and support my family due to the work at the sea. I think I have lived almost the same life as current workers do. The only difference is that the sea is my workplace. The sea provides a lot of things. I catch and sell various marine products to support my family.

What do you harvest or catch? Mostly, I catch murices [rock snails], but there are [a] bunch of marine products to catch such as abalones, octopus, sea mustard, sea urchins and top shells.

Have you ever received any support from the local Jeju governing authority? Certain part of medical fees is free. I have the certificate of haenyeo, which is a kind of a licence to approve me to work as a haenyeo. It does not cover dental fee, but unserious medical fee is free. Also, some money is provided. About 400,000 Korean won [about $470 Australian] is provided by the local government once a year. In addition, haenyeo in their 70s receive about extra 100,000 Korean won, ones in their 80s or older receive 200,000 won, and retired haenyeo in their 80s or older receive 300,000 won for three years.

Tradition and life now may be different from those in the past. What did you enjoy most about the life as a haenyeo? I was proud of myself when I felt success as a haenyeo. I felt proud of myself when I harvested the biggest one or the most products among friends. When I was young, we competed [with] each other to catch the most. It is a happy memory.

What is the most danger for haenyeo? How do you manage the risk? Sudden high waves or typhoon is the most dangerous. I think almost all haenyeo are afraid of sudden changes of the sea. Even if we try really hard to get out of the sea, only to fail. Sometimes we happened to be swept away to the distant sea by high waves. Now we wear diving suit, but when I was younger, there was no diving suit. We dived wearing ordinary clothes. It was too cold in winter, and we shivered with cold and felt our hands and feet being curled up like an octopus when coming out of the sea in winter. We could not walk properly because of the frozen body.

What position do you think haenyeo have in the community or on Jeju Island? It is getting better. In the past, the rich did not need or want to be a haenyeo. In general, girls from poor families dived, so a haenyeo was regarded as a humble job. However, the haenyeo is registered as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO, and people’s recognition of haenyeo has changed toward a positive direction. Recently some young women are taking courses to be a haenyeo, not because of the money but because of their own job.

Are there still haenyeo in your community? There are a few haenyeo near my town. One haenyeo is in her 80s, and about six haenyeo are in their 70s.

Do you have any other comments about life as a Haenyeo? I hope more young people join the haenyeo community. A woman diver haenyeo can get a good reputation and [they] are getting more support. However, we also need to protect our sea because [over-exploitation] has reduced the amount of sea products.

Haenyeo: the sea women of Jeju Island is showing at the museum until 10 October 2021.

Touring exhibition produced by the Australian National Maritime Museum and the Korean Cultural Centre Australia with assistance from the Jeju Special Self-Governing Province. It has been supported by the Embassy of the Republic of Korea to commemorate the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Australian and the Republic of Korea in 2021.

Daina Fletcher is the museum’s Head of Acquisition, ANMM Foundation, and Rita Kusevskis-Hayes is its Senior Education Officer.

‘It was too cold in winter, and we shivered with cold and felt our hands and feet being curled up like an octopus’

Many haenyeo began their diving career without the warmth of wetsuits, but they are now commonly worn. Photographer Jihye Yang