A Day of HAENYO
Let's follow their work day!
Haenyo's Home
This haenyo home is decorated with the trademark black lava stone prevalent on Jeju Island. Haenyo divers will be gather here to start their day!
7:00AM
A Haenyo diver with her net drives her electric four wheeled vehicles to the Haenyo's Home. The shelter acts as a base for groups to congregate in the morning to decide on which areas to target and to sort out the day’s catch on their return.
8:30AM
After all Haenyo divers are gathered, they discuss about weather and condition of ocean, and share their knowledge of ocean. And then, team leader sets out with her team to a “hunting spot” in the early morning.
9:00AM
The group setting off. Before they dive to the sea, They are wiping the goggles with mugwort to get rid of the grease. They can't see properly if it is greasy. They take only an abalone iron, a hoe and lead weights around thier waist. NO AIR TANK! They are ready to go into the sea!
11:00AM
They breathe outside and hold thier breath underwater. Haenyo divers search for abalone and conch off Jeju Island’s lava rock encrusted shoreline. When waters are rough, the divers stay close to the coast, well out of harm’s way.
12:30PM
"The conches are trying to catch me." That's what this old Haenyo said. It is really hard to come up when they are out of breath. Once they come back to the surface, they make a whistling sound, which is their unique way of breathing out the carbon dioxide and breathing in fresh oxygen.
1:00PM
They describe hardness as if their bone were crushed and the ground below them were caving in. The dead in the underworld don't breathe. So some say diving is like carrying the bottom board of your coffin underwater.
2:00PM
They come out of the water with the harvest after hard labor. Female divers usually worked in groups, they take care of each other.
2:30PM
The women divers work up to five hours straight, going from one spot to another, before bringing back their catch.
3:00PM
A helping man pick them up with truck from shore. An exhausted haenyo divers are heading back to the Haenyo's home to arrange their tools. They put their tools on the truck and share chat. They give each other the greatest support. They teamed up to lend a helping hand to needy neighbors, particularly orphans and the elderly.
3:15PM
Haenyo House. Equipped with a dressing room, shower and storage facilities, it is here where the day’s catch is weighed and nets, wet suits and buoys are hung to dry.
4:00PM
Their cooperatives operate seafood restaurants and shops, explaining why some restaurants are named Haenyeo Hoetji (Seafood restaurant specializing in raw fish) and Haenyeoui Jip (House of Haenyeo). Sometimes, however, some of them just take their harvested seafood to the beach and sell them directly to tourists.