The sea before
scuba — haenyeo
The sea before scuba.
Haenyeo (海女, women free-divers) are a uniquely Korean culture of women breath-hold divers who enter the sea with bare bodies and no oxygen gear to harvest seafood. A living prototype of modern freediving (apnea), Jeju haenyeo culture was inscribed on UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2016.
A diving culture on the
Intangible Cultural Heritage list
The ‘Culture of Jeju Haenyeo’ was inscribed on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2016 — decided at the 11th session of the Intergovernmental Committee (11.COM, 2016-11-30) held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; nomination file no. 01068. The committee recognised its eco-friendly, sustainable harvesting methods, its contribution to advancing women’s social status, and its cultural role in defining local identity.
On 1 May 2017 the Korean government (Korea Heritage Service) designated ‘Haenyeo (海女)’ as National Intangible Heritage (category: Traditional knowledge > Production knowledge). Whereas the UNESCO inscription covered ‘Jeju Haenyeo culture,’ the national designation protects and transmits the haenyeo’s diving production skills and knowledge along the entire Korean coast at the national level.
Inscription on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, covering Jeju (2016).
Protection and transmission of diving production skills and knowledge along the entire Korean coast (2017).
※ Around 2021 the numbering system for Intangible Heritage designations was abolished, so current official documents write simply “National Intangible Heritage: Haenyeo” without a number (‘No. 132’ is a historical label). Source · Korea Heritage Service, Korea Heritage Portal heritage.go.kr
Bare-body, breath-hold diving
Without any oxygen supply, haenyeo free-dive with bare bodies to about 10 m and, holding one breath for roughly a minute, harvest abalone, top shells, sea urchins, and seaweed (breath-hold harvesting). By skill they are ranked as sanggun · junggun · hagun, and before entering the water they hold a Jamsugut to pray to the sea goddess for safety and a good catch. In essence it is the same breath-hold (apnea) diving as modern freediving.
The breath gasped out on surfacing —
sumbisori is the emblem of the haenyeo.
Simple tools that supported bare-body diving
A buoyancy float hugged to the chest.
A net bag hung from the tewak for the catch.
An iron tool for prying abalone off the rocks.
Hand tools for gathering seaweed and shellfish.
From the cotton ‘mulsojungi’ to the rubber wetsuit.
A record from the 10th year of King Sukjong of Goryeo that Yun Eung-gyun, posted to Tamna (Jeju), banned the haenyeo’s ‘nude harvesting’ — the earliest surviving documentary evidence.
A record that Yun Eung-gyun banned haenyeo from harvesting in the nude, in the 10th year of King Sukjong of Goryeo.
As male divers (pojak) declined, abalone harvesting shifted mainly to women (haenyeo).
Historical names. ‘Haenyeo’ spread during the Japanese colonial period.
‘Haenyeo’ takes hold as the standard term. Elderly haenyeo still say ‘jomsu/jamsu.’
The public Haenyeo Museum
in Gujwa-eup, Jeju City
The public Haenyeo Museum, which presents Jeju’s haenyeo culture comprehensively, sits in Gujwa-eup, Jeju City, where many haenyeo remain. It recreates and exhibits the haenyeo’s history, daily life, harvesting tools, and homes, and provides guidance materials for foreign visitors.
Viewing and some experiences,
open to foreigners too
Haenyeo diving is intangible heritage, yet within seasonal and capacity limits foreigners can watch or take part in some experiences. In some fishing villages and tourist sites you can see real harvesting and seafood sales, and there have been reports of foreigners joining courses at Hansupul Haenyeo School (Hallim, Jeju City), Beophwan Jomnyeo Village, and Hado Fishing Village Experience.
A living heritage facing a crisis of transmission
Haenyeo culture faces a transmission crisis of rapid aging and population decline. Many cite ‘resource depletion from a changing sea environment’ as their greatest difficulty — the haenyeo are also witnesses on the front line of climate change. Jeju Province combines health and safety support for elderly haenyeo with the cultivation of new ones, and transmission continues through the layered channels of families, haenyeo schools, fishing-village cooperatives, haenyeo associations, and the Haenyeo Museum.
Why dive Korea — the climate-change front line- Foreigners’ hands-on ‘harvesting experience’ — fishing-cooperative and haenyeo-school programs vary by season, capacity, and year. A permanent English booking channel is hard to confirm from primary sources. Check directly with the operator before visiting.
- Scope of haenyeo population figures — the figures above are mostly reported values for ‘Jeju City.’ Totals for all of Jeju or the whole country (Busan, Gyeongnam, etc.) differ by source, so we do not assert a single nationwide number.
- Fees & hours — Haenyeo Museum and experience fees/hours are as of 2025–2026 and change yearly. Reconfirm just before visiting.