Traditional profession that seems to have disappeared over time, suddenly became attractive thanks to the stories told by a young girl, a real sea captain, but not only to make a living but also to connect with nature, the community and with herself.
In the Korean film "If Life Is for Us an tangerine", there is an image that makes the audience choked up: The mother of the sea girl with her back and bare hands pulling a net in the cold Jeju sea. No long lines, no need to explain - her eyes, her bottle hands and her dives into the ocean have spoken for a hard life. She quietly sacrificed everything so that her children could escape the difficult life she was suffering.
That cinematic story turns out to be not entirely fictional. On Jeju Island in real life, there is a young woman who is living a similar life! Lee Ah-ran, 32, is the youngest female swimmer in Hagwi-ri village - where most of the haenyeos are over 60 years old. Giving up her office work, she chose to work in a traditional profession - not to return to the past, but to find a way of life that suits the present.
Dive into the sea to slow down and make a living
Hundreds of years ago, Jeju women went to sea to make a living. They are called haenyeo, meaning female diving, diving up to 20m deep every day, without using a breathing bottle, relying only on traditional breathing and diving techniques.
The luggage of a haenyeo is very simple: a simple diving mask, a lead wrap around the waist, a diving knife and a buoy with a fishing bag called a tewak to hold the seafood to catch. They work long hours, regardless of cold or hot weather, following the tide and fish flow.
Lee Ah-ran used to work in marketing and dentistry and lived in a big city. She shared that her office life gradually exhausted her, but a trip to Jeju Island changed everything. Lee decided to study at Haenyeo Beophwan School in Seogwipo - one of two academies on Jeju Island that trains the new generation of haenyeo.
At the haenyeo school, we learned many different techniques - breathing control, duck diving, seafood harvesting, she told The Korea Herald, But to be honest, the most important thing is to understand the culture and philosophy of the haenyeo community.
After 3 months of internship with Hagwi-ri village fish processing cooperative, Lee officially became a true haenyeo.
What is special about Lee is that in addition to traditional equipment, she also carries a small camera, mounted on a buoy to record the diving journey. The slow, uncompromising footage, with only sea images and sounds - attracted more than 55,000 followers on Instagram.
At first, I did not intend to become a content creator in cyberspace. I simply recorded Jeju's beauty and my own feelings. Over time, diving became an important part of my life, and naturally became unpopular online content, Lee said.
Through Lee's channel, many young people came to Jeju. Some study a trade, others simply want to live a slow life for a while. For her, each diving is not just a job - but a healing and deep connection with herself.
Preserving heritage through storytelling
Currently, the number of haenyeos is decreasing significantly. According to statistics from the Jeju island government, in 2024, there will only be about 2,839 active hectares, of which more than 90% are over 60 years old. From 2014 to now, this number has decreased by nearly 40%.
In 2016, the haenyeo craft was recognized by UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. The Jeju government has introduced many support policies, from licensing to income subsidies. But without the next generation, all efforts are at risk of not bringing worthy results.
That is why Lee Ah-ran's story becomes important. Not only diving, she also plays the role of a storyteller. From her camera, she records sea trips, fish markets, village meetings... She also collects marine life data to help the community monitor changes underwater.
I want haenyeo to not only be known as an image of tourism, but also as a part of a culture of living - having a voice, having a story - Lee said.
Lee is doing it in the most intimate way: Living like a haenyeo, quietly sharing every day. Although her income is unstable and she has to do a side job, she still feels worthy: Just need to dig deep, hold my breath and return to a snail or bunch of seaweed, I feel very proud. I am contributing to preserving one of the oldest traditions of this island.
Lee has also actively participated in environmental campaigns. After witnessing the increasingly warming ocean waters - affecting marine ecology - she said that haenyeo should be a voice for the ocean that is being forgotten.
Climate change is real. Seaweed does not grow. Take the fish away. The sea water heats up. As a seaweed living underwater every day, I feel I need to have the responsibility to speak up, said young sea captain Lee Ah-ran.
