Sunday, November 27, 2011

South Korea: Jeju: Haenyeo Museum

Destination: Haenyeo Museum
Location: Jeju-si Gujwa-eup Hado-ri 3204-1
Date Visited: 2011 November

Haenyeo refers to female divers who dive into the ocean water to gather various shellfish, seaweed, etc, without using any underwater diving equipment. [Reference]

I first knew about the Jeju Women Divers from an episode shown in Travel Living (TLC) and Arirang channels. It is their type of work to be able to send their children to school. They dive without gears and can stay for 1-2 minutes underwater.
Most Jeju haenyeo work under water to a depth of 10 meters without the aid of any modern breathing apparatus, although some are capable of diving to twice depth. They hold their breath for about one minute, although some are able to remain underwater for as much as two minutes. When surfacing to breathe, they cling to a life buoy known locally as a taewak in order to take a brief rest before the next dive.

We have not seen an actual diver in the area, but having this museum gives a tribute to them and this simply shows how proud they are for their locals.




Other Museums in South Korea: 





Summary of 5 days itinerary in 2011 Jeju-Seoul Trip:


Day
Places to see
Food and Restaurants
Where to Sleep
Day 1
Take out from McDo
Lunch on Tour
Day 2
Paris Baguette
Lunch at Seongeup
Yeha Guesthouse, Jeju
Day 3
Joongang Cathedral
Flight to Gimpo Airport
Four Seasons House
Coffee Prince Restaurant
Green Residence, Myeongdong, Seoul
Day 4
Coffine Gurunaru
Green Residence, Myeongdong, Seoul
Day 5
Angel in Us Coffee
Green Residence, Myeongdong, Seoul