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Mermaids of Jeju

Title: Mermaids of Jeju

Dates: 17th century - present

Era in History: Joseon Dynasty, Japanese Occupation, Korean Empire


Summary: Wade into the watery world of the haenyeo, South Korea’s famous female free-divers. Courageous women who learned to thrive in the underwater world of Jeju Island through centuries of experience. The life-force of their island, they maintained its economy during the harrowing Japanese occupation, expanded the fishing industry across the Korean peninsula, and provided not just for their families, but for their nation.


Bibliography:


Gormley, N. [Patagonia]. (2020, May 10). Lessons from Jeju - Freediving and Motherhood with Kimi Werner [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/r4jLplyxXqI


Hatfield, S. C., & Hong, S. K. (2019). Mermaids of South Korea: Haenyeo (Women Divers) Traditional Ecological Knowledge, and Climate Change Impacts. Journal of Marine and Island Cultres, 8(1), n/a. https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/8bc1/195ba0d9c86d4df4b629b406536740372510.pdf?_ga=2.138040631.605511969.1635906420-1476483657.1635906420


Hong SK, Henderson J, Olszowka A, et al. Daily diving pattern of Korean and Japanese breath-hold divers (ama). Undersea Biomedical Research. 1991 Sep-Nov;18(5-6):433-443. PMID: 1746069.


Im, A. (2014). A Study on the possibility of Haenyeo as a Sustainable Profession with Social Security to keep tangible and intangible cultural heritage of Haenyeo community. WEIS (World Environment and Island Studies), 4(3). http://islandstudies.net/weis/weis_2014v04/v04n3_Im_A.pdf


Kwak, Chaney. “Diving Deep with Korea’s Sea-Women - Hemispheres.”Hemispheres, https://www.hemispheresmag.com/inspiration/adventure/jeju-korea-diving/.


Lee, JY., Park, J. & Kim, S. Cold adaptation, aging, and Korean women divers haenyeo. J Physiol Anthropol 36, 33 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40101-017-0146-6


Lee, Seohyeon; and Myong, Soon-ok. "Portraits of Jeju Haenyeo as Models of Empowerment in the Korean Newspaper Maeilshinbo during Japanese Occupation." CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture 20.2 (2018): <https://doi.org/10.7771/1481-4374.3284>


Lee, Joo-Young et al. “Diving bradycardia of elderly Korean women divers, haenyeo, in cold seawater: a field report.” Industrial health vol. 54,2 (2016): 183-90. doi:10.2486/indhealth.2015-0043


National Geographic Society. (2020, July 7). Confucianism. Retrieved November 7, 2021, from https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/confucianism/

Roach, E. (2021, July 16). Education in South Korea. WENR. Retrieved November 10, 2021, from https://wenr.wes.org/2018/10/education-in-south-korea


Park, S., Chung, N., & Lee, W. S. (2020). Preserving the Culture of Jeju Haenyeo (Women Divers) as a Sustainable Tourism Resource. Sustainability, 12(24), 10564. https://doi.org/10.3390/su122410564


VintageClipsAndMore. (2013, May 12). Documentary on 12 Year Old Korean Haenyeo Diver 1975 [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6XDN_VA-m0


Wolters, M. (2021). Haenyeo - Seeing the Incredible Women Divers of Jeju Island - South Korea! It's Dive O'Clock Somewhere! Retrieved November 15, 2021, from https://www.diveoclock.com/destinations/Asia/South_Korea/Haenyeo/.


Yoon, H. (2021, January 15). Saving the Songs of South Korea's Female Divers. Atlas Obscura. Retrieved November 15, 2021, from https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/haenyeo-jeju-island








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