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CommunityJunior Journalist
Haenyeo, unique and valuable tradition of Jeju
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[This article is written by a JDC Junior Journalist. The JDC Junior Journalist program is an educational project sponsored by Jeju Free International City Development Corporation (JDC). JDC Junior Journalist articles are only briefly edited by mentors before publishing.]

Compared with the mainland of Korea, Jeju island has several unique things such as the jeju dialect and over 360 oreums. In Jeju’s sea , we can easily find haenyeo who catch seafood without any scuba equipment. Above all, haenyeo are women divers who work to support their family. Most haenyeo start diving at an early age and continue to work until they become very old. However, the number of haenyeo is decreasing by over 100 yearly, according to the Jeju government. Many people in Jeju do not want to be a haenyeo nowaday because it is a hard and dangerous job. Many haenyeo suffer from divers disease and experience headache, dizziness and arthralgia. Jeju police station reported that 23 haenyeo died during working inside the sea since 2010.

72- year-old Park Su Raw, the oldest haenyo in her village, said that she could be in the sea without breathing for 3 minutes. For ordinary people, it would be impossible to do without scuba equipments. She did the job for 55 years but when the big waves were passing by or on a foggy day, she felt like she was in a lot of danger. “I didn’t feel proud of being a haenyeo before. But after working at Aqua Planet in Jeju, when I told people about being a haenyeo, I felt proud of my job. Not embarassed.” Haenyeo is one of the jobs that should be protected in Jeju.

Wanda Wynn from the USA, an English teacher, said that she became a haenyeo because she is interested in haenyeo’s life and skills. “When I was little, I loved swimming and everything related with water. After I heard about haenyeo, I got interested in Jeju and wanted to learn more. I decided to visit Jeju and the first thing I did in Jeju was meet a haenyeo. After a while, I found out there was a haenyeo school and started to attend.” With Wanda’s story, we can see that haenyeo is one of the greatest ways to share Jeju cultures with foriegners.

A producer in Jeju’s Aqua Planet’s haenyeo show, Lee Ha Rawng, said he thought he had to tell people about the importance of the haenyeo. “I am from Seoul. I’ve got interested in Jeju’s haenyeo and decided to come to Jeju and inform people about it. So, I made a haenyeo show.” Haenyeo show is performed at Aqua Planet, Jeju 4 times a day and 400 people can watch the show at a time. For more information, please visit www.aquaplanet.co.kr or call 064-780-0900.

Many foriegners and Korean mainland people are interested in haenyeo and try to conserve the tradition. People in Jeju have to know how important and valuable the tradition of haenyeo is. Haenyeo is a unique and valuable tradition of Jeju.

¨Ï Jeju Weekly 2009 (http://www.jejuweekly.com)
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