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Women of the sea: Korea’s oldest free divers (abc.net.au)
115 points by adrian_mrd on Nov 21, 2021 | hide | past | favorite | 27 comments



Unfortunately no mention of the equivalent Japanese tradition of ama[1], identically named in Chinese characters (海女) though much older - the first records of female ama are from the Heian period, whereas haenyeo as female divers appear to be a more recent phenomenon.

I am sure there are a number of interesting comparisons to be made and probably some historical connection between the two. However, these kinds of cultural similarities between Japan and Korea are rarely discussed, probably due to the nationalist animosity between the two countries.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ama_(diving)


What’s so unfortunate? Why bother injecting Japanese into this article focused on Korean divers? You’re basically saying they didn’t mention Japanese in an article about Korean divers because…?


It is worth mentioning that there are many vague lines between korea and japan in terms of ancient history. Perhaps one of the secrets of Japanese emperior bloodline comes from Baekjae. Parts of peninsula and some japanese island includin ryuku also have separate history of ownself.


The fact Kudara/Baekje kingdom is located in present day Korea does not mean it was populated with people having Korean culture and speaking Korean, as like you said some part of the peninsula has its own history. Some sort of Japonic language was spoken in the Korean peninsula[1] and the alliance between Baekje and some Japanese state at the time could have been because of related a culture.

In the hypothesis it wasn't the case, Japanese are indeed good at "Japanese-washing" successful people, by ignoring their foreign roots when convenient, while doing the reverse for people less successful. A pretty recent example is that of Momofuku Ando, inventor a cup ramen, born Taiwanese.

[1]https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peninsular_Japonic


Haenyeo is more recent? Wikipedia doesn't seem to agree. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haenyeo says it started earlier than Ama.


> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haenyeo says it started earlier than Ama.

Your link doesn't appear to actually say that?

> The first mention of female divers in literature does not come until the 17th century, when a monograph of Jeju geography describes them as jamnyeo (literally "diving women").[2]: 101


What I meant was that https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haenyeo says "Jeju's diving tradition dates back to 434 AD" while https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ama_(diving) says "Records of female pearl divers, or ama, date back as early as AD 927".

I think both date them using written records and I think they both started earlier than those records. So probably they started at around the same time? I really don't know. I just wanted to point out that the OP's argument doesn't seem valid.


There are three different "first mentions" of Korean diving women in the recorded Korean history:

- Descriptions of Jeju's Natural Features (제주풍토기, 濟州風土記) is written in 1628--1635 and contains the first direct mention of diving women and a term for them (jamnyeo).

- Jeju, the kingdom of Tamna at that time, was annexed by the mainland Goryeo in 1105. The new governor Yoon Eung-gyun (윤응균, 尹應均) issued a decree to forbid men and women to dive together, suggesting diving women existed back then.

- Jeju was well known for its goods for the king since at least 503 (according to the History of Three Kingdoms [삼국사기, 三國史記]), so there must have been some divers in Jeju, probably both men and women inferred from later records.


Just focus what article says.


Random tip for New Yorkers here: there's a great restaurant in Park Slope Brooklyn named after them, Haenyeo, on 5th Ave and Carroll Street.


One of the best restaurants in the area. Actually, one of the best restaurants I’ve been to in NYC.


Unrelated to the article itself, but the design of this page on mobile is a beautiful experience.


Fully agree, I came back searching for this submission again just to say that. Looks beautiful on both mobile and desktop without all the normal ads and links screaming for your attention. Love the full background photos and videos


I saw a TV program covering this professions and had a couple of few young ladies who jumped into this profession, but that was pretty much it. They were desperately recruiting. Their earnings are pretty good, but still there are potential dangers.

My grand father escaped from Jeju when he was in early 20s. I wish he was still alive, so I could ask about the history. I have relatives, but always interesting to read these articles about people living in the area.


As an aside, how long till they adapt that Lisa See novel to film?

https://www.lisasee.com/books-new/the-island-of-sea-women/

I mean, beautiful nature shots, tough women, exotic theme, heart wrenching story of friendship between women.

Not to forget, Korean film enjoys growing popularity.

You could even exploit a lot of ecological topics.

What could possibly go wrong?


Patagonia made a little short (13m) about Jeju. Definitely worth watching:

https://youtu.be/r4jLplyxXqI


Tough old mermaids.

They inherit the job from their mothers.

They used to dive while pregnant, often through the whole pregnancy.

For generations.

And up to a ripe old age

They may have inherited more physical characteristics.Could come in handy with rising sea levels

It is a bit sad that the profession is dying. And with it probably the physical characteristics.


> It is a bit sad that the profession is dying. And with it probably the physical characteristics.

Freediver here. As humans, and more importantly mammals, we’re all surprisingly adaptable from a physiological perspective.

Check this out: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diving_reflex



Frankly it seems like a needlessly dangerous practice to continue.


Many practices are 'needlessly dangerous' but I think that the phrase itself is just a reflection of priority as many things are needless at this point generally. It sounds like you're a generally calculating and (physically) risk averse person, which is no issue. That said, I'm sure you could understand why some people get a thrill from skydiving or weightlifting or any other activity that's dangerous on its face.


But this isn't a hobby like extreme sports. It's a job, and one which can now be replaced. If people want to do free diving for fun, that's fine, but I'm not seeing much reason they should go out of their way to preserve it as an industry.


Yes, but those surviving maybe special.


Seems like it’s not needed now that scuba gear I is Cheap reliable and readily available. Why risk it.


1) Scuba Gear is expensive

2) Scuba Gear requires maintenance

3) Scuba Gear requires a compressor which is more expense and maintenance.

4) You can free dive all day and not have to a damn about decompression times (exceptions occur for very aggressive repeated deep drives, which is not happening here). This is untrue for Scuba

5) Clearly there is a cultural component to this.


Decompression time is a function of depth, time, and N2 concentration. (Yes, O2 matters for because of O2 toxicity, but that's not a decompression issue.) Scuba can let you breathe different mixtures than the standard atmosphere but need not increase decompression time.


I have some extended family who alive along a rugged expanse of the pacific. The after there is amazing wild. There is all types of sea life living in the rocky outcrops and kelp forest. My family there free dives to get abalone with a dull metal knife. Watching them do it is crazy. You begin to worry after they’ve been down a long time. There is no economic incentive for them. They just like to do it.




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