Nov
22

“Haenyo – The Indomitable Diving Grandmas of Jeju Island”

They call themselves haenyo (pronounced hen-yuh), which literally means sea women and the whistling sound they made preceding their exit from the depths is called sumbisori. They are representative of a centuries old tradition, one which transformed their island in to a functioning matriarchy but a way of life which today is in danger of disappearing forever.

The island of Jeju, 53 miles south of mainland Korea, lies at the watery crossroads of the Yellow and East China Seas. Diving for conch, octopus, urchin, and abalone had always taken place there but due to large taxes was never very profitable – something men would take up if there was no alternative. That was until a canny group of women in the 18th century realized that women did not, unlike their men folk, have to pay taxes. A loophole was about to become a living.

The haenyo (sometimes spelled haenyeo) do not use oxygen tanks, which would only weigh them down and make their difficult task even harder. Their black wet suits and goggles are all they need to descend to the sea floor to collect their bounty. The skills they possess serve them well now – and did so too under the Japanese occupation of the Second World War. Many haenyo became heroines of the Korean resistance movement.

Learn more about these awesome women over at Kuriositas!

Photos by DMac 5D Mark II and Baraka50

[via The Presurfer]

Notes

  1. forbiddenrice reblogged this from fuckyeahwomenprotesting2
  2. rusharipes reblogged this from dorkvader
  3. muchlygen reblogged this from babyslime
  4. earthtexas reblogged this from digitalmeowmix
  5. sterlinglovely reblogged this from adailyriot
  6. vhzm reblogged this from crashbangtrollop
  7. nihilismfornegroes reblogged this from liquornspice
  8. thegirlwiththepurplecow reblogged this from border-studies
  9. border-studies reblogged this from jhameia
  10. doux-amer reblogged this from ins2nesens
  11. ins2nesens reblogged this from lamb-onthe-lam
  12. justzureen reblogged this from lamb-onthe-lam
  13. vinceisanart reblogged this from lamb-onthe-lam
  14. armando0201 reblogged this from lamb-onthe-lam
  15. swot-chan reblogged this from skeleton-gaga
  16. miwadake reblogged this from lamb-onthe-lam
  17. judithjives reblogged this from lamb-onthe-lam
  18. solastalgic reblogged this from lamb-onthe-lam
  19. artlesslyanonymous reblogged this from freshstrawberries
  20. satapbitsssss reblogged this from lamb-onthe-lam
  21. megaproblematic reblogged this from freshstrawberries
  22. morgrbts reblogged this from lamb-onthe-lam
  23. thejewishprincess reblogged this from freshstrawberries
  24. freshstrawberries reblogged this from mizbelle
  25. skeleton-gaga reblogged this from mizbelle
  26. macchiandcheese reblogged this from lamb-onthe-lam
  27. mizbelle reblogged this from lamb-onthe-lam
  28. lamb-onthe-lam reblogged this from covenesque
  29. ayokarlein reblogged this from picturesoftheday
  30. discosquirrelrising reblogged this from postmodernismruinedme
  31. fallingazette reblogged this from psychedelicheroine
  32. covenesque reblogged this from thebitchinthehouse
  33. vixtrot reblogged this from anygoddamnedcolleen