Documentary ON (Saturday 11:40 p.m. KBS 1TV) “City Haenyeo Goes to Work in the Jeju Sea” (Aired on May 5, 2023) ▶ The eight young women of Harye-ri are in charge of Mangjang Port! Eight years ago, the Harye-ri fishing village in Namwon-eup, Seogwipo-si, Jeju-do accepted “mainlanders” who bravely crossed over to Jeju with no connections to become haenyeo as official haenyeo. At the time, there were less than six haenyeo diving in Mangjang Port in Harye-ri, and Heo Woon-kyung, the head of the fishing village, and Kim Bok-hee, the president of the haenyeo association, made an unusual decision. They accepted Jeon So-young, who was from the city, as an intern haenyeo. It was the first choice in 36 years. In the same year, Hyun Seung-min, who was from Jeju and challenged Haenam, also joined. They gathered one by one, and now eight young people are roaming Mangjang Port. The reasons for becoming a haenyeo are also different. They started because they ‘loved the ocean, thought haenyeo was cool, and wanted to make money’, but the Haerye-ri 8-member group said that they were more sincere than anyone else! Thanks to them, the Haerye-ri haenyeo community, which has become younger, is full of energy when they dive, fix their tewak, and eat. ▶ They started because they liked haenyeo and wanted to be good at diving, but ‘I became happy’ When haenyeo go into the ocean to collect seafood, they call it ‘digging’. Once they go diving, they have to endure 4~5 hours with only their own breath. Since every moment is directly related to life, their body is the most important asset to haenyeo. They can’t catch a cold or get even a small infection. Kim So-young, who is in her 5th year, is receiving personal training during her break. As her body builds muscle, her passion for haenyeo feels stronger. Jeon So-young, who is in her 8th year, has recently become addicted to marathons. It started out as aerobic exercise was good for the body, but running through the forests and seas of Jeju gave me another happiness. Kim Da-ae, a 3-year veteran, is playing in an amateur soccer team after being introduced by the fishing village chief. For Da-ae, who once dreamed of becoming a soccer player, life as a haenyeo is a stepping stone that allowed her to dream of another future. ▶ A job where a haenyeo only goes to work one week a month? The double life of urban haenyeo Becoming a haenyeo is not a happy ending, but just the beginning. Usually, they go out to dive twice a month according to the tide. Due to the ever-changing ocean conditions, they can dive for at most one week a month! And that is only possible when they are lucky. Urban haenyeo, who are less skilled than their seniors, do various part-time jobs to ‘survive.’ Another workplace for Kim Ji-young, a haenyeo in her 8th year, is a tangerine field. Ji-young is lovingly tending to her tangerine tree and waiting for the first harvest of the year. Kim Moon-ja, a 5-year veteran, is making and selling aprons using her former job as a fashion designer. Moonja is busy picking bracken in the spring and working as a scuba diving instructor in the summer. Moon Junhye, in her third year, is a female diver YouTuber and also works part-time at a soccer field. Their efforts to settle down in Jeju and live as female divers continue. #Jeju Island female diver #Annual salary #Youth