Jeju's haenyeo spotlight

On Jeju Island, the haenyeo are still diving without oxygen tanks, and the women keeping the tradition alive are often in their 70s and 80s. (ich.unesco.org) UNESCO says Jeju’s haenyeo dive about 10 meters underwater to gather abalone, sea urchins and other shellfish, holding their breath for about one minute at a time. The practice was added to UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2016. (ich.unesco.org) The work is not just harvesting seafood. UNESCO and South Korea’s Korea Heritage Service describe a full culture that includes skill levels, shared fishing grounds, songs, rituals for safety at sea, and knowledge passed from mothers and mothers-in-law to younger women. (english.khs.go.kr) Jeju’s own tourism sites present the haenyeo as central to the island’s economy and identity. The Jeju Haenyeo Museum says the divers were main breadwinners through diving and farming, and the museum was built to preserve and explain their social and economic role. (visitjeju.net) That history now sits alongside a steep demographic decline. Jeju Province’s 2025 year-end survey, reported by Chosun Ilbo on January 20, 2026, counted 2,371 active haenyeo, down 9.6% from 2,623 a year earlier and down 45.8% from 4,377 in 2015. (chosun.com) The same survey found 1,500 haenyeo were age 70 or older, including 423 age 80 or above. Only 105 were under 50. (chosun.com) Officials and divers have tied that decline to hard conditions in the water and weak recruitment on land. Chosun reported that 70.5% of haenyeo in a 2023 provincial fishing-household survey named resource depletion linked to changes in the marine environment as their biggest difficulty. (chosun.com) The image circulating on social platforms matches what Jeju’s tourism agencies already market: visitors can watch haenyeo work near Seongsan Ilchulbong, and some sites offer performances or meals centered on the day’s catch. Visit Jeju says travelers can see the divers bringing in seafood on the coast, while the Korea Tourism Organization lists a haenyeo performance venue near Seongsan with seafood tasting afterward. (visitjeju.net) (english.visitkorea.or.kr) UNESCO’s framing helps explain why the haenyeo draw so much attention beyond travel videos. It describes the tradition as rare in a society shaped by male-centered norms and says the culture has been recognized for strengthening women’s status, social cohesion and eco-friendly fishing practices. (unesco.org) (english.khs.go.kr) So the fascination with Jeju’s “sea women” is also a record of what may be disappearing. The same women who turned free-diving into one of Jeju’s best-known symbols are now the aging core of a tradition that officials are still trying to preserve. (ich.unesco.org) (chosun.com)