May 16, 2026 • 35 mins
The Haenyeo, or sea women, from Jeju Island in South Korea are a community of respected older women who free dive for sea creatures for food. We dive into their long history, traditions, examples, dangers, culture and future in this classic episode.
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Speaker 1 (00:05):
Hey, this is Sanny and Samantha.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
I'm welcome to stuff. Never told your production of iHeart Radio,
and today we are bringing back an episode. Then I
think about kind of often actually on the legendary Hanyo
(00:29):
are women in South Korea who have a lot of
respect older women, specifically for diving for sea creatures as food,
and I just thought it was a fascinating topic.
Speaker 1 (00:43):
It is.
Speaker 3 (00:45):
Interestingly, I was watching one of my new favorite YouTube
series not a sponsor, Dirt, and they went to Japan
and there is a version of Hanyo, a woman there
who teaches them how to dive to get all these
things as well, and she is just as gruff as
the Anios, the Korean divers. So it was really interesting.
(01:05):
But also I discovered there's an actual restaurant named after
that in New York, which we might have to go
and check out.
Speaker 1 (01:11):
They got a Michelin shout out.
Speaker 2 (01:14):
Are they named after specifically?
Speaker 3 (01:17):
Yes, after the women who dive in jgu Island. Also, yeah,
you and I talked about the fact that I just
recently watched it was last year When Life Gives You Tangerines,
which is a Korean drama and it starts off as
the mother, one of the main mother characters, doing everything
she can for her daughter, including keeping her out of
(01:39):
that field because it's so dangerous.
Speaker 1 (01:41):
But yeah, yeah, there's a lot.
Speaker 2 (01:43):
There is a lot, So we thought we would bring
this one back and please enjoy. Hey, this is Anny
and Samantha. I'm welcome to Steffone. Never told your prediction
of iHeartRadio.
Speaker 1 (02:07):
Oh and this is gonna be a fun episode, I hope,
and a short one. But we in a very patriarchal world.
We often see women at the bottom of the social hierarchy,
economical too, all those things and left behind because it
is an assumption that women have their really just one place,
(02:27):
and that's oftentimes in the home, serving their husbands or
men in general. But when you look into the details,
you find some wonderful treasures in the form of stories
or legends that talk about the way women and the
marginalized community often help their community survive through the hard
times and even change the course of how we got
(02:47):
here today, and a lot of what we know about
the past, we get to all of that and lovely
treasures and those little groves that are like, look at
that story. We need to talk about this more and today,
we are floring one such story slash legend slash group
that still does exist specifically to South Korea. It's the
older group of women or mostly older group of women
(03:10):
known as the Haino, and the Haino or Sea Women,
are largely again made up of older women from the
Jju Islands in South Korea, a big hot spot for
tourism if you're on any South Korean TikTok at all,
and these legendary women are seen as some of the
most respected people of the island. Being a part of
(03:30):
their crew is seen as an honor today. Now, of course,
they've been around for a while, so this level of
honor came much later. So the Hanos are a community
of women free divers who work and live on Jju Island,
and we're focusing on Jju Island, but there are other
places that the Hanos have popped up or have been.
(03:54):
They just I guess haven't really talked about it, and
they weren't originated from there, so we will talk about
them a little bit later, but for the most part,
that's where they're located. So here's some information from Kyotojournal
dot org. They dive as deep as ten meters below
the surface without the help of air tanks or modern
diving equipment, with little insulation from the cold South China
(04:15):
Sea and then the A little more information from a
recent Evogue article about the Hainos and recent meaning January
twenty twenty four. The Haino, who are part of South
Korea's UNESCO Cultural Heritage Protection status, have been practicing muljiu,
the Korean word that refers to their diving activities since
at least the sixth century AD. According to records, muljiu
(04:37):
requires an intimate knowledge of the ocean and its physics,
as well as superior physical fitness. Divers would often stay
underwater for up to three minutes without the help of
any modern diving equipment, a feat that tests their lung
capacity and ability to fill and withstand water pressure, as
well as estimate ocean depths.
Speaker 2 (04:56):
Yes, and it is within these ocean depths that they
are able to collect different foods and supplements for their
community and for their livelihoods. Here's some more information from
Heytera Travel Journal. Hanyo our sea women have for centuries
been the primary divers in Korean culture. During the sixteen hundreds,
as men were increasingly drawn away to war and conquest,
(05:20):
women were left behind to provide for their families and communities.
Eventually they became known as Korea's first working moms. The
reversal of traditional gender roles made Haino an outlier in
the country's traditionally patriarchal society, and diving became exclusively female.
The work these women do, I had read, is perilous,
(05:41):
most of them over the age of sixty. They submerged
themselves into oftentimes freezing conditions for six hours a day,
holding their breath for minutes at a time to plug abaloni, clam, seaweed,
sea cucumber, sea urchin, and squid from the bottom of
the strait. As the article states, the heyna are first
mentioned in the sixteen hundreds, when many speculate that men
(06:04):
were originally doing the diving as well, and they were
called into the army or had died, which left only
women to do the diving. It seemed that the ruler
at the time demanded a lot from the people, including
a tribute of delicious seafood such as abalone. There is
speculation that they also imposed a tax on men for
(06:27):
their earnings. Here's a bit from Oceanographic Magazine quote. The
Heino or women of the Sea, are an icon of
South Korea, a unique culture found on the island of Jaiju.
The women have been in charge of diving for seafood
to provide for their families since the seventeenth century, when
many of the men were either conscripted to the army
or had lost their lives at sea while fishing. Additionally,
(06:50):
the Korean ruler at that time had imposed heavy taxes
on the earnings of men but exempted the labor of women.
The folk of the island had no choice but to
be how the main breadwinners of their families. This evolved
into a system where only girls were trained to perform
the dangerous free diving work of the Haino to harvest
(07:10):
items such as avalony, conch, seaweed, sea urchin, and octopus
from the ocean floor.
Speaker 1 (07:17):
So for many this new occupation was an empowering road
and here's a quote from sidetrack dot Com. The Haino
culture sprung up during a time when oppressive legislation was
forced upon Korean women. Women should be limited to domestic
work and the care of children. They had no access
to education, no right to inheritance. They were discouraged from
walking in public spaces. When they did, their faces should
(07:39):
be hidden by a veil. Divorce procedures could only be
initiated by men. Husbands could abandon their wives should they
fail to bear a male child. Unshackled and free, the
Hano have stood as paragons for female empowerment, and like
most of the World War An oppression has been a
factor with its continued decreasing of numbers of Hanos as
they are less and less them as the years go by.
(08:02):
So here's some more information from that sidetracked article. The
Haino reached their peak at the end of the nineteen fifties.
In nineteen forty five, the USA and USSR liberated Korea
from Japanese oppression, but began using the peninsula as a
pawn in the Cold War. The Korean people woke from
their colonial nightmare to find themselves politically divided by the
thirty eighth Parallel to the north, communist interests led by
(08:25):
Soviet Russia to the south, a territory aligned to capitalists America.
The Korean War from nineteen fifteen to nineteen fifty three
consolidated the former occupied zones into two separate countries at
the high cost of more than three million lives and
the destruction of their basic infrastructure. Despite its relative isolation,
JG was not spared from these hard times. Violence, unemployment, famine,
(08:48):
and sickness took over the island, as well as another
exodus of young adult males. However, an economic upsearch followed.
In between nineteen sixty five and the nineteen seventy, the
number of Haino dec priests from twenty three thousand, eighty
one to fourteen thousand, one hundred and forty three. Today,
only around four thousy five hundred are still active. Most
(09:09):
Hanos are now between sixty five and seventy five years
of age. Despite government incentives such as promoting annual festivals
and building a museum and a school for the Reno,
a few young women are willing to embrace the lifestyle
of their grandmothers.
Speaker 2 (09:23):
Since then, the culture and legend of the Hainos have
gained more and more attention and revelry. In fact, the
Kyoto Journal even talked about it helping establish a semi
matriarchal society. They write, quote, the Haino have elevated social
status and in otherwise patriarchal South Korea, but it is
unclear why free diving became a female dominated profession on Jju.
(09:47):
Explanations range from men dying in deep sea fishing accidents
or wars, to physiological reasons, for example, women's fat reserves
supposedly making them more resistant to cold water. Historically, so
many any families depended on the income of the heino
that a semimatriarchal society developed in Jaju, it was not
(10:07):
unheard of for women to be the main breadwinners while
men would stay home and take care of the children.
One way in which non standard gender roles were manifested
was through the payment of dowry to the family of
the bride instead of the groom. Unlike families in mainland
South Korea, families on Jaju would wish for the birth
of baby girls rather than boys, which.
Speaker 1 (10:29):
Is fun fast, fascinating and though the original divers may
have started in four hundred and thirty four AD, the
traditions and practices changed as the people who took over
change from men to more women in the seventeenth century. Historically,
the practice would be passed down from mother to daughter,
starting at the age about ten or eleven, but things
change and the numbers have changed since then, so here's
(10:50):
a bit more information from a Financial Times article. Traditionally
a job handed down from mother to daughter. Hanial life
has been shunned in recent decades by nearly all the
girls born in Jju's seaside villages, which have tended to
favor more comfortable lives in the islands two cities or
on the mainland. For more than fourteen thousand in the
nineteen seventies, the number of hanos have dwindled to fewer
(11:12):
than four thy five hundred today. So there are levels
that the Haino use for their expertise, and in order
to be a part of one, it does take the
villager's approval to get to that point. So here's some
more information from wonder Wisdom dot com. Becoming a Hanyo
also is not an easy task. A new recruit has
to earn a yes vote from every woman in their village.
(11:34):
It can take up to five years for any woman
to reach an expert level after crossing various levels like
sengun or novice Jungan which is middle level and Hagen
expert level. A Hagun can reach depth of more than
thirty feet and can stay more than two minutes underwater
at a.
Speaker 2 (11:51):
Time and some additional information thanks to Oceanographic Magazine quote.
This evolved into a system where only girls were trained
to perform the dangerous free diving work of the Haino
to harvest items such as abalony, conch, seaweed, sea urchin,
and octopus from the ocean floor. To become a hano
is indeed a dangerous and tiring path. These women train
from the age of ten or younger to dive to
(12:13):
depths of up to twenty meters and hold their breath
for up to two minutes underwater. They dive with no
protective equipment other than their wetsuits, flippers, goggles, and weighted
vest or belts to help them dive deeper. Lives can
and have been lost during these dives.
Speaker 1 (12:29):
Right, I think I read won article when a oneman
was talking about how in the last I think, like
ten to I don't want to say five, maybe five years,
maybe ten years, they had lost fourteen people.
Speaker 4 (12:40):
Wow.
Speaker 1 (12:40):
And of course they talk about whether it's like the
pressure underneath and causing heart attacks or just losing them,
and like there's so many things. But I was like dang,
that's a for a small village, that's a lot.
Speaker 4 (12:50):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (13:01):
So of course with all the traditions and dangers, they
do all of this with love and respect for their environment.
We were researching these amazing groups of women. Most of
them talked about what they do with a lot of
respect for their land and their area, and they talk
about the need of sustainability and safeguarding the ecosystem. So
Young Meet talks about it. Specifically to UNESCO, We're going
(13:22):
to talk more about their articles because they celebrate all
the women there. As j Juhanio, we adhere to a
small but essential rule. We avoid over harvesting. We respect
seasonal and size restrictions for marine products. For instance, during
the abaloni season, we only gather those that are at
least seven centimeters in size. Similarly, when catching conch, they
must be over seven centimeters long. If we cannot assess
(13:44):
their size underwater, we check after surfacing and return undersized
specimens to the sea, allowing them to grow naturally. This
approach ensures that we harvest marine products in a sustainable
manner as they continue to thrive and contribute to the ecosystem.
Speaker 2 (13:58):
And beyond just being conscient of their harvesting, they actually
collect garbage in order to restore the water. Here's a
quote from goodyeworld dot com. As part of their civic responsibility,
younger Hanyo regularly dive into the sea to extract garbage, plastics,
fishing nets, bottles, cans, oyster traps, styrofoam, and other human litter. Tourism,
(14:21):
over development, a naval base, and plans for a second
airport also threaten their survival. In pre COVID years, soul
Jju consistently ranked as the world's busiest air route, with
an average of nearly two hundred flights per day. Unfazed
by the attention of tourists and the media for their prowess,
Hainyo views themselves simply as ordinary workers. Their propitious legacy
(14:44):
is best summed up by oceanographer Sylvia A. Earle quote,
if we fail to take care of the ocean, nothing
else matters. No ocean know us. We need to protect
the ocean the same way we protect the land. The
ocean is the galaxy of life.
Speaker 1 (15:00):
Right And just so y'all know, there's a lot of research,
I mean, legitimate research papers based on what the Heyenos
have done and helping the ecosystem and helping to protect
the ecosystem as well as the way that they breathe.
They have actually gone out of their way to see
like what makes them so different and how they're able
to handle the temperatures as well as going underwater and
(15:21):
surviving without equipment like oxygen and speaking of just to
add to the hard coordinates to it, if you are
using scuba gear or oxygen, that's cheating. That's what they
told one reporter and they were like, why don't you
do these new equipments And they're like, oh, no, that's cheating.
Why would we do that? And this again our sixty
five to eighty five year old women. And it wasn't
(15:42):
until the seventies that they decided not to use sojungi
or muldouk sum or essentially cotton swimsuits and from what
I gather is like long, roguish type of outfits, and
they started actually wearing wetsuits to protect themselves. And with that,
I think we already mentioned, but they would have diving mas.
Sometimes they would wear fins, they would wear gloves, chest
(16:03):
weights and often the ones that like oh that could
cause cancer, that type of metal You sure you want
to use that. They're like, yeah, it's fine, really, just
like eh, And then a weeding hoe and a net
attached to a flotation device. And I have a feeling
that some of my K drama people have seen this.
Welcome to someone Dari I think is one that is
(16:26):
specifically talking about Jju Island and the Hanyos and some
like tragedy of that. And then Our Blues has them too,
and they were mean. They are a clique apparently, but
they do it because they have to keep each other safe.
They don't trust each other, then they can't do it right.
So the all these things, But if you want to
talk about dramatized versions, there's plenty out there, and there's
(16:46):
a lot of actually recent documentaries too, So if you
all want to a little more in depth, we'll look
at that. And with that, not just with the K dramas,
we do want to talk about some of the legends
and individual stories that were told, and also some of
the funniest things. If you want to go look this
up and just look up the Hanyos or the Korean
(17:06):
Sea women, you'll see all these amazing pictures. Because photographers
are so interested about this culture and they want to
preserve it to that point they understand this is a
big deal. But like these women are like, oh my god,
stop asking for my picture. I just want to go home.
I just want to count my food. Like it is amazing,
Like this is the harmonies of the grandma's that I'm like, Yeah,
(17:28):
that's about right. This is amazing. But the pictures are
beautiful and so interesting to just look at, so you
should definitely take a look. But with that, yes, we
do want to talk about some of the stories. There
are a few that were featured for the Yenesco articles,
and one of them was again we've already mentioned her,
young me Jong. She's a fifty five year veteran, so
(17:48):
not fifty five years old. She's been in the Hano
community for fifty five years, and she talks about it.
Life as a Haino has its share of challenges, especially
for women. I've faced my own difficulties. In my case,
economic hardships forced me to dive not only in local waters,
but also in places like Japan. I've dedicated fifty five
years to this profession, working tirelessly to earn a living.
(18:11):
It's incredibly gratifying to see our recognition and appreciation on
a global scale. Now that the culture of Jju Haino
is inscribed as a UNESCO Heritage Element, I firmly believe
that being a Haino is one of the best professions
for women, even without formal education. Personally, I didn't have
much formal education, but I take pride in what I've
learned as a Hano. I have a daughter and a
(18:32):
daughter in law, and my goal is to pass down
this tradition to them, to make them Hanos as well.
I'm committed to ensuring that this invaluable heritage continues to
thrive and be transmitted to future generations. And she even
talks about her own tactics in diving and says, quote,
there are no special techniques. My approach is quite simple.
I hold my breath as long as I can. However,
(18:53):
I emphasize to fellow divers not to push themselves too hard,
as overexertion can be life threatening. The middle lesson I
have been taught is to do what we can within
our limits, in showing safety above all else.
Speaker 2 (19:06):
The UNESCO article also talked about Kim Hung m and
her story as a Haino. Quote, I decided to become
a Haino because my mother was also a Haino. After
my divorce, I found myself raising two children on my own.
Juggling work and taking care of my kids made it
challenging to provide them with the care they needed, especially
when they were sick. So I half jokingly, half seriously
(19:29):
asked my mother if I could join her in diving.
She mentioned that being a Hano would offer a more
conducive environment for raising children, so I decided to give
it a try. Of course, working as a heino is
physically demanding in the sea, but it gives me the
flexibility to prioritize my children's well being when necessary. That's
why I ultimately chose to pursue a career as a heino.
(19:50):
And she continues specifically addressing the typical question of holding
her breath underwater. Quote, The question of how long we
can hold our breath underwater is when I frequently encounter
no matter where I go. While being a Heino demands
extended periods of breath holding, it's more akin to a marathon.
Our work as divers often requires us to spend over
(20:12):
four hours in the sea. When needed, we can hold
our breath for more than two minutes, but we must
be cautious not to overextend ourselves. If we hold our
breath for too long, we risk losing our rhythm, which
can impede our ability to continue working underwater. Typically, our
breath holding time is around thirty five seconds or so.
Going beyond that duration can have adverse effects on our
(20:33):
bodies and our work, so we aim to keep it
within that range. And with all of that, she talks
about her daily routines. Quote. My daily routine as a
Jju Hano involves a combination of diving work and engaging
in cultural and environmental activities. After completing my diving task,
I dedicate time to practicing Haino folk songs, a cultural
(20:54):
tradition deeply rooted in my village. On days when I
don't go diving, I participate in O cleanup practices aimed
at removing debris from the sea and the coastline. In
addition to being a Haino, I approached this cleanup work
with the mindset of preserving and cleaning up our marine environments.
My village is unique because we place importance on both
(21:15):
our cultural heritage such as folk songs, and environmental conservation.
This splend of traditions and responsibilities keeps me quite busy
in my life as a Heniu.
Speaker 1 (21:25):
Yeah, and we're going to talk about those songs in
a minute. But before that, nothing will slow them down,
not even giving birth. So here's one story from a
sixty five year old veteran Hainho from huckmag dot org.
A lot of women continued diving despite health challenges or
during pregnancy, as did several of the women in Boksun's
(21:45):
living room, which is a person who hosts all the heinyos.
Kimsunja sixty five year old even gave birth while she
was at sea during spring. She was picking seaweed close
to the shore and suddenly her water broke and she
had no time to call somebody for help. I just
climbed up the sea toour and gave birth to my daughter.
When the others realized that I was missing, they found
(22:07):
me and helped me back home with my baby safely.
It was quite normal to give birth on the seashore,
she told me. As her three youngest recruits looked thoroughly surprised.
They would never be that calm, they proclaimed. The older
Haino believed they had healthy babies because they were working
in the sea while being pregnant, not a practice I
would want.
Speaker 2 (22:26):
That is in tens. That's in tens, and age is
only a number. A bit more from Young me Jong,
the first veteran Haino. We were talking about quote, I'm
not the oldest among us. There's a remarkable ninety three
year old Haino among our ranks. To her and others,
I'd like to say, please take good care of yourselves
(22:48):
and consider stepping back from diving. We have many talented
young Haino emerging, and your contributions have been invaluable. While
I'm among the senior members, there are others who have
more years of experience.
Speaker 1 (23:02):
Right. There are so many stories right after that being
like they were talking about seventy three year old woman
and there was an age she's like, oh my sister,
my older sister, she's still a Hanyo. Like they're all
talking about the fact that they continue going well beyond
I think that was one that was like one hundred.
Speaker 4 (23:19):
Wow.
Speaker 1 (23:19):
I'm not sure that that was the record or she
still is a part of it. Like there's so many
conversations about the fact that they didn't start till much later,
or they still continued and they don't exist anymore. So
those are the average ages, especially when they started when
they were ten, But of course this would be around
the prime time of women being a part of this community.
(23:41):
The camaraderie within the Hanyo community, it's inspiring and it's
something they passed down to the younger generation of Hainos.
Here's another quote from the UNESCO article. The Hanino community
operates as a close knit group. Skilled divers may catch
ten kilograms of seafood, while less experienced divers might not
even reach one kilogram. However, everything is gathered together and
(24:01):
shared equally, whether someone had a bottleful catch or a
modest one. While younger divers may be honing their underwater skills,
they actively contribute when out of the water. This equal
sharing of earnings is a well organized system that attracts
new recruits. The younger generations appreciate being treated equally and
sharing earnings uniformly, while experienced Hano value the enthusiasm and
(24:23):
respect of their younger counterparts. This mutual appreciation in strengthens
our sense of community and reinforces the importance of preserving
the culture of Jju Haino as an enduring tradition that
should never be lost but passed on to future generations,
and as a part of a lot of their history
and tradition, singing and songs are a part of that culture.
Here's some information from Atlas Obscure dot com. Chua Hueikyng,
(24:47):
who has written extensively about Haino for decades, says that
writing the biography of a Doen, the first guardian of
Heineo's songs, was one of the most memorable experiences of
her career. The first time I heard her sing, I
remember sobs in her voice, and before I knew it,
I was crying too. She says. Haino's songs served as
practical purposes. Starting in the mid nineteenth century, Hanyo rowed
(25:09):
their boats to work far from Jju Island to distant
locales such as Busan, Gongwan Province, and even Japan. To
pass the time as they rode, the women sing simple
melodies in six' eight time to the rhythm of the sea.
Waves the song lyrics, varied but often women singing lamenting
the day they were, born complaining about their incompetent, husbands
(25:30):
and in protests of the. Government Yeah, YEAH i could understand.
That so here's the lyric from one of the songs
That i'm not going to sing BECAUSE i don't know
how to do six fight, Times So i'm just gonna
read it to. Y'all bae baying dove into the, sea
skipped the day's three meals and learned diving as a
way to be slowly saved up one coin at a
time to take a step at my husband's. Bar Tab
(25:53):
so sad in good the. News there's no sheet music
For heinyo, songs and a few of the nearly ten
thousand known two have. Titles sometimes the songs are called
eyodo saana because these two words appear often within the
lyrics Of haino, music but no one is really sure
what the term. Means some say yodo sana refers to
a mythical, island a fantasy haven where problems cease to,
(26:16):
exist or even a heavenly. Afterlife others say the words
have no meaning at, all.
Speaker 2 (26:23):
And the article goes. On the songs are poems filled
with irony and, tragedy but a closer look reveals that
they are a testament to these women's will to. Survive
and these songs are still sung, today and apparently some
have tried to remix some of the, originals causing some.
Debate but one thing is for, sure the legacy of
(26:43):
these songs remains an important part of The haino.
Speaker 1 (26:46):
Culture so what's happening Today we kind of already talked
ab but we're gonna delve a little. Deeper the artistry
Of haino has garnered more interests, recently with museums that
(27:06):
are dedicated to the years and years of tradition and
to the fact THAT unesco has placed them on The
Intangible Cultural heritage. List they have become a cultural and tourist.
Phenomenon and here's some more information from That Kyoto journal article.
Quote in twenty, sixteen The hena culture was assigned to
the list OF Unesco Intangible Cultural heritage due to its
(27:27):
unique history and the rapid decline of female. Divers it's
elevated status due to THE unesco listing has resulted in
a new tourist industry and increase protection and funding for
the women in the industry and the natural environment of the.
Island the government provides free healthcare and the necessary diving,
equipment and has opened a diving school again and a,
museum so there's. That, however while this new heritage status
(27:49):
has brought benefits for the, community it has made the
women into living artifacts who performed their work for tourist.
Audiences there are now places where you can pay to
watch the women dive and they're. CATCH i would be
interested in doing that BECAUSE i bet it's real.
Speaker 2 (28:03):
Good i'd be interested in. It But i'm also, LIKE
i Hope i'm not.
Speaker 1 (28:07):
Bothered, WELL i think as, not as you're giving. Money,
yeah that's they're cool with. That, like don't bother, them
don't come ask for pictures and, selfies just buy their. Food,
Now i'm good with.
Speaker 3 (28:18):
That give.
Speaker 1 (28:21):
So and from wonder wisdom dot. Com, yes the tradition is,
dying particularly as a neo generation have decided to take
jobs in, cities but The hano is still one of
the most honored and respected women on the. Island the
strong work ethic and the decisive role they have played
in society have given them international. Acclaim in addition to
The hano becoming inscribed on THE Unesco list Of Korea's
(28:42):
Intangible Cultural heritage in twenty, sixteen there's even The Haino
museum In. Jju, today and tourists visit this picturesque island
just to see them in. Action as One Haino MOON bokoi,
says WHEREVER i, GO i tell people That I'm hano.
Speaker 2 (28:57):
Proudly there are still those who are both looking to
be a part of the tradition as well as teach the.
Traditions from gloriosport dot com. Quote in recent, years a
small number of young women have left their lives on
The korean mainland to Become, hano parting with their stressful
city careers in order to reconnect with. Nature The heno
we spoke with stressed the importance of national policy in preserving,
(29:20):
traditions but insisted the responsibility lies with the senior divers
to support and educate an emerging generation of divers and
teach the wisdom of the. Waters in many, Ways haino
are agents of change an invaluable source of. Wisdom their
lives depend on an intricate understanding of the ecosystem in
which they play a, Part owing to their profound respect
(29:42):
for the. Environment in spite of dwindling numbers of, divers
The haino represent an alternative vision for the. Future their
century long tradition is teaching a more considered approach to
fishing that might be the antidote to our, broken pillaged
ecosystem in the wake of unprecedented global environmental activism emerging
from the bottom, up the tradition Of haino is far from.
(30:04):
Disappearing it's evolving and taking different forms on an international.
Scale and, yeah exactly like. This the practice has spread
beyond Just. Jju their newer groups to join the legendary,
crew such as located On GoJ, island still In South.
Speaker 1 (30:19):
Korea but as a populator has, grown there have become
schools that are available to train future, hano's one In
jju and one In. Kojo so here's a quote from
hukmag dot. Org the sixty nine year old who was
being interviewed for this article admitted that when she first
started to recruit new, divers she was. Skeptical hunting in
the deep is a tough and dangerous job with no
(30:40):
room for. Air the fishing nets moved back and forth
and can trap you quickly if you don't pay, attention she,
said confessing that she has sworn to keep the three
recruits on her boat. Safe originally From, Jju lee moved
To koj as a, child and at that time daughters
were supposed to. Work they had no choice but to do.
This she, explained it was hard to even go back.
Inside my mother kept, saying, no go, out go back
(31:03):
in the. Water and this is kind of her beginning
her time with The hainos, obviously as well as wanting
to teach others and then spreading. That so they talked
about what that process was for that island and how
similar it is To, jju but why it's important to
keep going and keep. Teaching so she had a lot
of wisdom for these young, recruits and yet there was
(31:25):
one WHO i think she was thirty four talking about
she just really fell in love with the idea of
going away from the city and doing something close to. Nature,
AGAIN i do wonder What i'm thinking that that might
have been me HAD i been In South. Korea i'd be,
Like i'm done with this BECAUSE i was born In,
seoul like Near, seoul SO i wasn't near the. Islands but,
(31:46):
DAMN i don't. Know THOUGH i don't like the creatures.
Undersea they freaked me, out so maybe.
Speaker 2 (31:50):
NOT i, yes, agreed AND i will also add on
to that just to reiterate like this is so difficult
physically to do what they're. Doing but also over on
my other Podcast, saver we did an episode on sea.
Urchins they're difficult to just get like that is hard
(32:13):
right to. Do it takes a lot of. Skill AND
i really love that they're so cognizant of the water
and wanting to protect it and doing it like protecting the,
culture protecting the, water protecting. Traditions but it, is it's,
(32:36):
difficult it is so.
Speaker 1 (32:38):
Hard so, WELL i think it needs to be Net
like a lot of the times they get on a,
boat go out far out into the, ocean far enough,
out and then they jump in like they are true free.
Divers i'm not saying they're just walking in right and.
Sparkling that's not what they're. Doing and they do try
to keep together as a crew so they can watch
each other just in case they are in distress because
(32:59):
they don't have. Anything but that floating device like that
to me is like what and it's all like decorated
from What i've. Seen, again this is kay dramas to
show who is. WHO i think this is how they
keep up with each, other and so it's part of
what they, do but like, It, yeah it's not what
you think, of just like they just walk down to
the sea and then, nah they pick Up no like
(33:19):
that one woman who was heavily, pregnant still needing to
work and gather. Things sure she might have been closer
to the, shore but most of the time they are
in boats and they all go out and then they
dive in to go and retrieve whatever they. Can and like,
AREAS i think abaloni are harder to get because of
the way they're like a little off from the main
(33:40):
areas that they stay. In so it's a whole thing
from What i've, gathered and it. Is it is very
dangerous and the fact that these are elder like elders
who are doing this is so amazing to even talk.
About but, again if you have time to watch any
of these, documentaries reading any of these, articles you really
should apparently see urchins have had.
Speaker 2 (34:00):
Anything that's my, Favorite my favorite fact from Our savorite
episode on sea urchins is that they wear little hats
and people usually it's like a shell or, seaweed you,
know and it's to protect from the. Sun during the,
pandemic we were all depressed and so people started printing
out like THREE d Like viking hats or which is,
(34:20):
hats and the sea urchins will put them. On, yeah
and sometimes they will reject the hat if it's not good. Enough,
yes and that makes me love them even.
Speaker 4 (34:28):
More.
Speaker 1 (34:29):
Yes, WELL i was also saying That i'd seen a
video of an. Octopus, yeah gifted a hat and like
the because they had like trash and a diver was
trying to bargain with this octopus and got rejected like
three or four times to finally the perfect shell and
he was willing to give up the other hat to
take that, one like it was a whole. Thing secreeachers
(34:50):
are amazing and scary to. Me.
Speaker 2 (34:53):
Agreed, agreed BUT i cannot recommend. Enough look up sea
urchins wearing. Hats you need a. Boost, also, yeah the,
boats both of.
Speaker 1 (35:07):
Them uh.
Speaker 2 (35:08):
Huh, well, listeners if you have any thoughts about, this
please let us. Know we would love to hear from.
You you can email us At stephanie Moms stuff at
iHeartMedia dot. Com you can find us On twitter at Mostuff,
podcasts or On instagram and TikTok Stuff never Told you
or lso on. YouTube we have tea public store and
we have a book you can get wherever you get your.
Books thanks always to our super Producer, christina our executive Producer,
(35:29):
maya and our Contributor. Joey thank you and thanks to
you for. Listening Stuffan Never Told you is prediction Of
My Heart. Radio for more podcasts From My Heart, radio
you can check out the Heart radio App Apple podcasts
wherever you listen to your favorite.
Speaker 4 (35:39):
Shows
Hey, this is Sanny and Samantha.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
I'm welcome to stuff. Never told your production of iHeart Radio,
and today we are bringing back an episode. Then I
think about kind of often actually on the legendary Hanyo
(00:29):
are women in South Korea who have a lot of
respect older women, specifically for diving for sea creatures as food,
and I just thought it was a fascinating topic.
Speaker 1 (00:43):
It is.
Speaker 3 (00:45):
Interestingly, I was watching one of my new favorite YouTube
series not a sponsor, Dirt, and they went to Japan
and there is a version of Hanyo, a woman there
who teaches them how to dive to get all these
things as well, and she is just as gruff as
the Anios, the Korean divers. So it was really interesting.
(01:05):
But also I discovered there's an actual restaurant named after
that in New York, which we might have to go
and check out.
Speaker 1 (01:11):
They got a Michelin shout out.
Speaker 2 (01:14):
Are they named after specifically?
Speaker 3 (01:17):
Yes, after the women who dive in jgu Island. Also, yeah,
you and I talked about the fact that I just
recently watched it was last year When Life Gives You Tangerines,
which is a Korean drama and it starts off as
the mother, one of the main mother characters, doing everything
she can for her daughter, including keeping her out of
(01:39):
that field because it's so dangerous.
Speaker 1 (01:41):
But yeah, yeah, there's a lot.
Speaker 2 (01:43):
There is a lot, So we thought we would bring
this one back and please enjoy. Hey, this is Anny
and Samantha. I'm welcome to Steffone. Never told your prediction
of iHeartRadio.
Speaker 1 (02:07):
Oh and this is gonna be a fun episode, I hope,
and a short one. But we in a very patriarchal world.
We often see women at the bottom of the social hierarchy,
economical too, all those things and left behind because it
is an assumption that women have their really just one place,
(02:27):
and that's oftentimes in the home, serving their husbands or
men in general. But when you look into the details,
you find some wonderful treasures in the form of stories
or legends that talk about the way women and the
marginalized community often help their community survive through the hard
times and even change the course of how we got
(02:47):
here today, and a lot of what we know about
the past, we get to all of that and lovely
treasures and those little groves that are like, look at
that story. We need to talk about this more and today,
we are floring one such story slash legend slash group
that still does exist specifically to South Korea. It's the
older group of women or mostly older group of women
(03:10):
known as the Haino, and the Haino or Sea Women,
are largely again made up of older women from the
Jju Islands in South Korea, a big hot spot for
tourism if you're on any South Korean TikTok at all,
and these legendary women are seen as some of the
most respected people of the island. Being a part of
(03:30):
their crew is seen as an honor today. Now, of course,
they've been around for a while, so this level of
honor came much later. So the Hanos are a community
of women free divers who work and live on Jju Island,
and we're focusing on Jju Island, but there are other
places that the Hanos have popped up or have been.
(03:54):
They just I guess haven't really talked about it, and
they weren't originated from there, so we will talk about
them a little bit later, but for the most part,
that's where they're located. So here's some information from Kyotojournal
dot org. They dive as deep as ten meters below
the surface without the help of air tanks or modern
diving equipment, with little insulation from the cold South China
(04:15):
Sea and then the A little more information from a
recent Evogue article about the Hainos and recent meaning January
twenty twenty four. The Haino, who are part of South
Korea's UNESCO Cultural Heritage Protection status, have been practicing muljiu,
the Korean word that refers to their diving activities since
at least the sixth century AD. According to records, muljiu
(04:37):
requires an intimate knowledge of the ocean and its physics,
as well as superior physical fitness. Divers would often stay
underwater for up to three minutes without the help of
any modern diving equipment, a feat that tests their lung
capacity and ability to fill and withstand water pressure, as
well as estimate ocean depths.
Speaker 2 (04:56):
Yes, and it is within these ocean depths that they
are able to collect different foods and supplements for their
community and for their livelihoods. Here's some more information from
Heytera Travel Journal. Hanyo our sea women have for centuries
been the primary divers in Korean culture. During the sixteen hundreds,
as men were increasingly drawn away to war and conquest,
(05:20):
women were left behind to provide for their families and communities.
Eventually they became known as Korea's first working moms. The
reversal of traditional gender roles made Haino an outlier in
the country's traditionally patriarchal society, and diving became exclusively female.
The work these women do, I had read, is perilous,
(05:41):
most of them over the age of sixty. They submerged
themselves into oftentimes freezing conditions for six hours a day,
holding their breath for minutes at a time to plug abaloni, clam, seaweed,
sea cucumber, sea urchin, and squid from the bottom of
the strait. As the article states, the heyna are first
mentioned in the sixteen hundreds, when many speculate that men
(06:04):
were originally doing the diving as well, and they were
called into the army or had died, which left only
women to do the diving. It seemed that the ruler
at the time demanded a lot from the people, including
a tribute of delicious seafood such as abalone. There is
speculation that they also imposed a tax on men for
(06:27):
their earnings. Here's a bit from Oceanographic Magazine quote. The
Heino or women of the Sea, are an icon of
South Korea, a unique culture found on the island of Jaiju.
The women have been in charge of diving for seafood
to provide for their families since the seventeenth century, when
many of the men were either conscripted to the army
or had lost their lives at sea while fishing. Additionally,
(06:50):
the Korean ruler at that time had imposed heavy taxes
on the earnings of men but exempted the labor of women.
The folk of the island had no choice but to
be how the main breadwinners of their families. This evolved
into a system where only girls were trained to perform
the dangerous free diving work of the Haino to harvest
(07:10):
items such as avalony, conch, seaweed, sea urchin, and octopus
from the ocean floor.
Speaker 1 (07:17):
So for many this new occupation was an empowering road
and here's a quote from sidetrack dot Com. The Haino
culture sprung up during a time when oppressive legislation was
forced upon Korean women. Women should be limited to domestic
work and the care of children. They had no access
to education, no right to inheritance. They were discouraged from
walking in public spaces. When they did, their faces should
(07:39):
be hidden by a veil. Divorce procedures could only be
initiated by men. Husbands could abandon their wives should they
fail to bear a male child. Unshackled and free, the
Hano have stood as paragons for female empowerment, and like
most of the World War An oppression has been a
factor with its continued decreasing of numbers of Hanos as
they are less and less them as the years go by.
(08:02):
So here's some more information from that sidetracked article. The
Haino reached their peak at the end of the nineteen fifties.
In nineteen forty five, the USA and USSR liberated Korea
from Japanese oppression, but began using the peninsula as a
pawn in the Cold War. The Korean people woke from
their colonial nightmare to find themselves politically divided by the
thirty eighth Parallel to the north, communist interests led by
(08:25):
Soviet Russia to the south, a territory aligned to capitalists America.
The Korean War from nineteen fifteen to nineteen fifty three
consolidated the former occupied zones into two separate countries at
the high cost of more than three million lives and
the destruction of their basic infrastructure. Despite its relative isolation,
JG was not spared from these hard times. Violence, unemployment, famine,
(08:48):
and sickness took over the island, as well as another
exodus of young adult males. However, an economic upsearch followed.
In between nineteen sixty five and the nineteen seventy, the
number of Haino dec priests from twenty three thousand, eighty
one to fourteen thousand, one hundred and forty three. Today,
only around four thousy five hundred are still active. Most
(09:09):
Hanos are now between sixty five and seventy five years
of age. Despite government incentives such as promoting annual festivals
and building a museum and a school for the Reno,
a few young women are willing to embrace the lifestyle
of their grandmothers.
Speaker 2 (09:23):
Since then, the culture and legend of the Hainos have
gained more and more attention and revelry. In fact, the
Kyoto Journal even talked about it helping establish a semi
matriarchal society. They write, quote, the Haino have elevated social
status and in otherwise patriarchal South Korea, but it is
unclear why free diving became a female dominated profession on Jju.
(09:47):
Explanations range from men dying in deep sea fishing accidents
or wars, to physiological reasons, for example, women's fat reserves
supposedly making them more resistant to cold water. Historically, so
many any families depended on the income of the heino
that a semimatriarchal society developed in Jaju, it was not
(10:07):
unheard of for women to be the main breadwinners while
men would stay home and take care of the children.
One way in which non standard gender roles were manifested
was through the payment of dowry to the family of
the bride instead of the groom. Unlike families in mainland
South Korea, families on Jaju would wish for the birth
of baby girls rather than boys, which.
Speaker 1 (10:29):
Is fun fast, fascinating and though the original divers may
have started in four hundred and thirty four AD, the
traditions and practices changed as the people who took over
change from men to more women in the seventeenth century. Historically,
the practice would be passed down from mother to daughter,
starting at the age about ten or eleven, but things
change and the numbers have changed since then, so here's
(10:50):
a bit more information from a Financial Times article. Traditionally
a job handed down from mother to daughter. Hanial life
has been shunned in recent decades by nearly all the
girls born in Jju's seaside villages, which have tended to
favor more comfortable lives in the islands two cities or
on the mainland. For more than fourteen thousand in the
nineteen seventies, the number of hanos have dwindled to fewer
(11:12):
than four thy five hundred today. So there are levels
that the Haino use for their expertise, and in order
to be a part of one, it does take the
villager's approval to get to that point. So here's some
more information from wonder Wisdom dot com. Becoming a Hanyo
also is not an easy task. A new recruit has
to earn a yes vote from every woman in their village.
(11:34):
It can take up to five years for any woman
to reach an expert level after crossing various levels like
sengun or novice Jungan which is middle level and Hagen
expert level. A Hagun can reach depth of more than
thirty feet and can stay more than two minutes underwater
at a.
Speaker 2 (11:51):
Time and some additional information thanks to Oceanographic Magazine quote.
This evolved into a system where only girls were trained
to perform the dangerous free diving work of the Haino
to harvest items such as abalony, conch, seaweed, sea urchin,
and octopus from the ocean floor. To become a hano
is indeed a dangerous and tiring path. These women train
from the age of ten or younger to dive to
(12:13):
depths of up to twenty meters and hold their breath
for up to two minutes underwater. They dive with no
protective equipment other than their wetsuits, flippers, goggles, and weighted
vest or belts to help them dive deeper. Lives can
and have been lost during these dives.
Speaker 1 (12:29):
Right, I think I read won article when a oneman
was talking about how in the last I think, like
ten to I don't want to say five, maybe five years,
maybe ten years, they had lost fourteen people.
Speaker 4 (12:40):
Wow.
Speaker 1 (12:40):
And of course they talk about whether it's like the
pressure underneath and causing heart attacks or just losing them,
and like there's so many things. But I was like dang,
that's a for a small village, that's a lot.
Speaker 4 (12:50):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (13:01):
So of course with all the traditions and dangers, they
do all of this with love and respect for their environment.
We were researching these amazing groups of women. Most of
them talked about what they do with a lot of
respect for their land and their area, and they talk
about the need of sustainability and safeguarding the ecosystem. So
Young Meet talks about it. Specifically to UNESCO, We're going
(13:22):
to talk more about their articles because they celebrate all
the women there. As j Juhanio, we adhere to a
small but essential rule. We avoid over harvesting. We respect
seasonal and size restrictions for marine products. For instance, during
the abaloni season, we only gather those that are at
least seven centimeters in size. Similarly, when catching conch, they
must be over seven centimeters long. If we cannot assess
(13:44):
their size underwater, we check after surfacing and return undersized
specimens to the sea, allowing them to grow naturally. This
approach ensures that we harvest marine products in a sustainable
manner as they continue to thrive and contribute to the ecosystem.
Speaker 2 (13:58):
And beyond just being conscient of their harvesting, they actually
collect garbage in order to restore the water. Here's a
quote from goodyeworld dot com. As part of their civic responsibility,
younger Hanyo regularly dive into the sea to extract garbage, plastics,
fishing nets, bottles, cans, oyster traps, styrofoam, and other human litter. Tourism,
(14:21):
over development, a naval base, and plans for a second
airport also threaten their survival. In pre COVID years, soul
Jju consistently ranked as the world's busiest air route, with
an average of nearly two hundred flights per day. Unfazed
by the attention of tourists and the media for their prowess,
Hainyo views themselves simply as ordinary workers. Their propitious legacy
(14:44):
is best summed up by oceanographer Sylvia A. Earle quote,
if we fail to take care of the ocean, nothing
else matters. No ocean know us. We need to protect
the ocean the same way we protect the land. The
ocean is the galaxy of life.
Speaker 1 (15:00):
Right And just so y'all know, there's a lot of research,
I mean, legitimate research papers based on what the Heyenos
have done and helping the ecosystem and helping to protect
the ecosystem as well as the way that they breathe.
They have actually gone out of their way to see
like what makes them so different and how they're able
to handle the temperatures as well as going underwater and
(15:21):
surviving without equipment like oxygen and speaking of just to
add to the hard coordinates to it, if you are
using scuba gear or oxygen, that's cheating. That's what they
told one reporter and they were like, why don't you
do these new equipments And they're like, oh, no, that's cheating.
Why would we do that? And this again our sixty
five to eighty five year old women. And it wasn't
(15:42):
until the seventies that they decided not to use sojungi
or muldouk sum or essentially cotton swimsuits and from what
I gather is like long, roguish type of outfits, and
they started actually wearing wetsuits to protect themselves. And with that,
I think we already mentioned, but they would have diving mas.
Sometimes they would wear fins, they would wear gloves, chest
(16:03):
weights and often the ones that like oh that could
cause cancer, that type of metal You sure you want
to use that. They're like, yeah, it's fine, really, just
like eh, And then a weeding hoe and a net
attached to a flotation device. And I have a feeling
that some of my K drama people have seen this.
Welcome to someone Dari I think is one that is
(16:26):
specifically talking about Jju Island and the Hanyos and some
like tragedy of that. And then Our Blues has them too,
and they were mean. They are a clique apparently, but
they do it because they have to keep each other safe.
They don't trust each other, then they can't do it right.
So the all these things, But if you want to
talk about dramatized versions, there's plenty out there, and there's
(16:46):
a lot of actually recent documentaries too, So if you
all want to a little more in depth, we'll look
at that. And with that, not just with the K dramas,
we do want to talk about some of the legends
and individual stories that were told, and also some of
the funniest things. If you want to go look this
up and just look up the Hanyos or the Korean
(17:06):
Sea women, you'll see all these amazing pictures. Because photographers
are so interested about this culture and they want to
preserve it to that point they understand this is a
big deal. But like these women are like, oh my god,
stop asking for my picture. I just want to go home.
I just want to count my food. Like it is amazing,
Like this is the harmonies of the grandma's that I'm like, Yeah,
(17:28):
that's about right. This is amazing. But the pictures are
beautiful and so interesting to just look at, so you
should definitely take a look. But with that, yes, we
do want to talk about some of the stories. There
are a few that were featured for the Yenesco articles,
and one of them was again we've already mentioned her,
young me Jong. She's a fifty five year veteran, so
(17:48):
not fifty five years old. She's been in the Hano
community for fifty five years, and she talks about it.
Life as a Haino has its share of challenges, especially
for women. I've faced my own difficulties. In my case,
economic hardships forced me to dive not only in local waters,
but also in places like Japan. I've dedicated fifty five
years to this profession, working tirelessly to earn a living.
(18:11):
It's incredibly gratifying to see our recognition and appreciation on
a global scale. Now that the culture of Jju Haino
is inscribed as a UNESCO Heritage Element, I firmly believe
that being a Haino is one of the best professions
for women, even without formal education. Personally, I didn't have
much formal education, but I take pride in what I've
learned as a Hano. I have a daughter and a
(18:32):
daughter in law, and my goal is to pass down
this tradition to them, to make them Hanos as well.
I'm committed to ensuring that this invaluable heritage continues to
thrive and be transmitted to future generations. And she even
talks about her own tactics in diving and says, quote,
there are no special techniques. My approach is quite simple.
I hold my breath as long as I can. However,
(18:53):
I emphasize to fellow divers not to push themselves too hard,
as overexertion can be life threatening. The middle lesson I
have been taught is to do what we can within
our limits, in showing safety above all else.
Speaker 2 (19:06):
The UNESCO article also talked about Kim Hung m and
her story as a Haino. Quote, I decided to become
a Haino because my mother was also a Haino. After
my divorce, I found myself raising two children on my own.
Juggling work and taking care of my kids made it
challenging to provide them with the care they needed, especially
when they were sick. So I half jokingly, half seriously
(19:29):
asked my mother if I could join her in diving.
She mentioned that being a Hano would offer a more
conducive environment for raising children, so I decided to give
it a try. Of course, working as a heino is
physically demanding in the sea, but it gives me the
flexibility to prioritize my children's well being when necessary. That's
why I ultimately chose to pursue a career as a heino.
(19:50):
And she continues specifically addressing the typical question of holding
her breath underwater. Quote, The question of how long we
can hold our breath underwater is when I frequently encounter
no matter where I go. While being a Heino demands
extended periods of breath holding, it's more akin to a marathon.
Our work as divers often requires us to spend over
(20:12):
four hours in the sea. When needed, we can hold
our breath for more than two minutes, but we must
be cautious not to overextend ourselves. If we hold our
breath for too long, we risk losing our rhythm, which
can impede our ability to continue working underwater. Typically, our
breath holding time is around thirty five seconds or so.
Going beyond that duration can have adverse effects on our
(20:33):
bodies and our work, so we aim to keep it
within that range. And with all of that, she talks
about her daily routines. Quote. My daily routine as a
Jju Hano involves a combination of diving work and engaging
in cultural and environmental activities. After completing my diving task,
I dedicate time to practicing Haino folk songs, a cultural
(20:54):
tradition deeply rooted in my village. On days when I
don't go diving, I participate in O cleanup practices aimed
at removing debris from the sea and the coastline. In
addition to being a Haino, I approached this cleanup work
with the mindset of preserving and cleaning up our marine environments.
My village is unique because we place importance on both
(21:15):
our cultural heritage such as folk songs, and environmental conservation.
This splend of traditions and responsibilities keeps me quite busy
in my life as a Heniu.
Speaker 1 (21:25):
Yeah, and we're going to talk about those songs in
a minute. But before that, nothing will slow them down,
not even giving birth. So here's one story from a
sixty five year old veteran Hainho from huckmag dot org.
A lot of women continued diving despite health challenges or
during pregnancy, as did several of the women in Boksun's
(21:45):
living room, which is a person who hosts all the heinyos.
Kimsunja sixty five year old even gave birth while she
was at sea during spring. She was picking seaweed close
to the shore and suddenly her water broke and she
had no time to call somebody for help. I just
climbed up the sea toour and gave birth to my daughter.
When the others realized that I was missing, they found
(22:07):
me and helped me back home with my baby safely.
It was quite normal to give birth on the seashore,
she told me. As her three youngest recruits looked thoroughly surprised.
They would never be that calm, they proclaimed. The older
Haino believed they had healthy babies because they were working
in the sea while being pregnant, not a practice I
would want.
Speaker 2 (22:26):
That is in tens. That's in tens, and age is
only a number. A bit more from Young me Jong,
the first veteran Haino. We were talking about quote, I'm
not the oldest among us. There's a remarkable ninety three
year old Haino among our ranks. To her and others,
I'd like to say, please take good care of yourselves
(22:48):
and consider stepping back from diving. We have many talented
young Haino emerging, and your contributions have been invaluable. While
I'm among the senior members, there are others who have
more years of experience.
Speaker 1 (23:02):
Right. There are so many stories right after that being
like they were talking about seventy three year old woman
and there was an age she's like, oh my sister,
my older sister, she's still a Hanyo. Like they're all
talking about the fact that they continue going well beyond
I think that was one that was like one hundred.
Speaker 4 (23:19):
Wow.
Speaker 1 (23:19):
I'm not sure that that was the record or she
still is a part of it. Like there's so many
conversations about the fact that they didn't start till much later,
or they still continued and they don't exist anymore. So
those are the average ages, especially when they started when
they were ten, But of course this would be around
the prime time of women being a part of this community.
(23:41):
The camaraderie within the Hanyo community, it's inspiring and it's
something they passed down to the younger generation of Hainos.
Here's another quote from the UNESCO article. The Hanino community
operates as a close knit group. Skilled divers may catch
ten kilograms of seafood, while less experienced divers might not
even reach one kilogram. However, everything is gathered together and
(24:01):
shared equally, whether someone had a bottleful catch or a
modest one. While younger divers may be honing their underwater skills,
they actively contribute when out of the water. This equal
sharing of earnings is a well organized system that attracts
new recruits. The younger generations appreciate being treated equally and
sharing earnings uniformly, while experienced Hano value the enthusiasm and
(24:23):
respect of their younger counterparts. This mutual appreciation in strengthens
our sense of community and reinforces the importance of preserving
the culture of Jju Haino as an enduring tradition that
should never be lost but passed on to future generations,
and as a part of a lot of their history
and tradition, singing and songs are a part of that culture.
Here's some information from Atlas Obscure dot com. Chua Hueikyng,
(24:47):
who has written extensively about Haino for decades, says that
writing the biography of a Doen, the first guardian of
Heineo's songs, was one of the most memorable experiences of
her career. The first time I heard her sing, I
remember sobs in her voice, and before I knew it,
I was crying too. She says. Haino's songs served as
practical purposes. Starting in the mid nineteenth century, Hanyo rowed
(25:09):
their boats to work far from Jju Island to distant
locales such as Busan, Gongwan Province, and even Japan. To
pass the time as they rode, the women sing simple
melodies in six' eight time to the rhythm of the sea.
Waves the song lyrics, varied but often women singing lamenting
the day they were, born complaining about their incompetent, husbands
(25:30):
and in protests of the. Government Yeah, YEAH i could understand.
That so here's the lyric from one of the songs
That i'm not going to sing BECAUSE i don't know
how to do six fight, Times So i'm just gonna
read it to. Y'all bae baying dove into the, sea
skipped the day's three meals and learned diving as a
way to be slowly saved up one coin at a
time to take a step at my husband's. Bar Tab
(25:53):
so sad in good the. News there's no sheet music
For heinyo, songs and a few of the nearly ten
thousand known two have. Titles sometimes the songs are called
eyodo saana because these two words appear often within the
lyrics Of haino, music but no one is really sure
what the term. Means some say yodo sana refers to
a mythical, island a fantasy haven where problems cease to,
(26:16):
exist or even a heavenly. Afterlife others say the words
have no meaning at, all.
Speaker 2 (26:23):
And the article goes. On the songs are poems filled
with irony and, tragedy but a closer look reveals that
they are a testament to these women's will to. Survive
and these songs are still sung, today and apparently some
have tried to remix some of the, originals causing some.
Debate but one thing is for, sure the legacy of
(26:43):
these songs remains an important part of The haino.
Speaker 1 (26:46):
Culture so what's happening Today we kind of already talked
ab but we're gonna delve a little. Deeper the artistry
Of haino has garnered more interests, recently with museums that
(27:06):
are dedicated to the years and years of tradition and
to the fact THAT unesco has placed them on The
Intangible Cultural heritage. List they have become a cultural and tourist.
Phenomenon and here's some more information from That Kyoto journal article.
Quote in twenty, sixteen The hena culture was assigned to
the list OF Unesco Intangible Cultural heritage due to its
(27:27):
unique history and the rapid decline of female. Divers it's
elevated status due to THE unesco listing has resulted in
a new tourist industry and increase protection and funding for
the women in the industry and the natural environment of the.
Island the government provides free healthcare and the necessary diving,
equipment and has opened a diving school again and a,
museum so there's. That, however while this new heritage status
(27:49):
has brought benefits for the, community it has made the
women into living artifacts who performed their work for tourist.
Audiences there are now places where you can pay to
watch the women dive and they're. CATCH i would be
interested in doing that BECAUSE i bet it's real.
Speaker 2 (28:03):
Good i'd be interested in. It But i'm also, LIKE
i Hope i'm not.
Speaker 1 (28:07):
Bothered, WELL i think as, not as you're giving. Money,
yeah that's they're cool with. That, like don't bother, them
don't come ask for pictures and, selfies just buy their. Food,
Now i'm good with.
Speaker 3 (28:18):
That give.
Speaker 1 (28:21):
So and from wonder wisdom dot. Com, yes the tradition is,
dying particularly as a neo generation have decided to take
jobs in, cities but The hano is still one of
the most honored and respected women on the. Island the
strong work ethic and the decisive role they have played
in society have given them international. Acclaim in addition to
The hano becoming inscribed on THE Unesco list Of Korea's
(28:42):
Intangible Cultural heritage in twenty, sixteen there's even The Haino
museum In. Jju, today and tourists visit this picturesque island
just to see them in. Action as One Haino MOON bokoi,
says WHEREVER i, GO i tell people That I'm hano.
Speaker 2 (28:57):
Proudly there are still those who are both looking to
be a part of the tradition as well as teach the.
Traditions from gloriosport dot com. Quote in recent, years a
small number of young women have left their lives on
The korean mainland to Become, hano parting with their stressful
city careers in order to reconnect with. Nature The heno
we spoke with stressed the importance of national policy in preserving,
(29:20):
traditions but insisted the responsibility lies with the senior divers
to support and educate an emerging generation of divers and
teach the wisdom of the. Waters in many, Ways haino
are agents of change an invaluable source of. Wisdom their
lives depend on an intricate understanding of the ecosystem in
which they play a, Part owing to their profound respect
(29:42):
for the. Environment in spite of dwindling numbers of, divers
The haino represent an alternative vision for the. Future their
century long tradition is teaching a more considered approach to
fishing that might be the antidote to our, broken pillaged
ecosystem in the wake of unprecedented global environmental activism emerging
from the bottom, up the tradition Of haino is far from.
(30:04):
Disappearing it's evolving and taking different forms on an international.
Scale and, yeah exactly like. This the practice has spread
beyond Just. Jju their newer groups to join the legendary,
crew such as located On GoJ, island still In South.
Speaker 1 (30:19):
Korea but as a populator has, grown there have become
schools that are available to train future, hano's one In
jju and one In. Kojo so here's a quote from
hukmag dot. Org the sixty nine year old who was
being interviewed for this article admitted that when she first
started to recruit new, divers she was. Skeptical hunting in
the deep is a tough and dangerous job with no
(30:40):
room for. Air the fishing nets moved back and forth
and can trap you quickly if you don't pay, attention she,
said confessing that she has sworn to keep the three
recruits on her boat. Safe originally From, Jju lee moved
To koj as a, child and at that time daughters
were supposed to. Work they had no choice but to do.
This she, explained it was hard to even go back.
Inside my mother kept, saying, no go, out go back
(31:03):
in the. Water and this is kind of her beginning
her time with The hainos, obviously as well as wanting
to teach others and then spreading. That so they talked
about what that process was for that island and how
similar it is To, jju but why it's important to
keep going and keep. Teaching so she had a lot
of wisdom for these young, recruits and yet there was
(31:25):
one WHO i think she was thirty four talking about
she just really fell in love with the idea of
going away from the city and doing something close to. Nature,
AGAIN i do wonder What i'm thinking that that might
have been me HAD i been In South. Korea i'd be,
Like i'm done with this BECAUSE i was born In,
seoul like Near, seoul SO i wasn't near the. Islands but,
(31:46):
DAMN i don't. Know THOUGH i don't like the creatures.
Undersea they freaked me, out so maybe.
Speaker 2 (31:50):
NOT i, yes, agreed AND i will also add on
to that just to reiterate like this is so difficult
physically to do what they're. Doing but also over on
my other Podcast, saver we did an episode on sea.
Urchins they're difficult to just get like that is hard
(32:13):
right to. Do it takes a lot of. Skill AND
i really love that they're so cognizant of the water
and wanting to protect it and doing it like protecting the,
culture protecting the, water protecting. Traditions but it, is it's,
(32:36):
difficult it is so.
Speaker 1 (32:38):
Hard so, WELL i think it needs to be Net
like a lot of the times they get on a,
boat go out far out into the, ocean far enough,
out and then they jump in like they are true free.
Divers i'm not saying they're just walking in right and.
Sparkling that's not what they're. Doing and they do try
to keep together as a crew so they can watch
each other just in case they are in distress because
(32:59):
they don't have. Anything but that floating device like that
to me is like what and it's all like decorated
from What i've. Seen, again this is kay dramas to
show who is. WHO i think this is how they
keep up with each, other and so it's part of
what they, do but like, It, yeah it's not what
you think, of just like they just walk down to
the sea and then, nah they pick Up no like
(33:19):
that one woman who was heavily, pregnant still needing to
work and gather. Things sure she might have been closer
to the, shore but most of the time they are
in boats and they all go out and then they
dive in to go and retrieve whatever they. Can and like,
AREAS i think abaloni are harder to get because of
the way they're like a little off from the main
(33:40):
areas that they stay. In so it's a whole thing
from What i've, gathered and it. Is it is very
dangerous and the fact that these are elder like elders
who are doing this is so amazing to even talk.
About but, again if you have time to watch any
of these, documentaries reading any of these, articles you really
should apparently see urchins have had.
Speaker 2 (34:00):
Anything that's my, Favorite my favorite fact from Our savorite
episode on sea urchins is that they wear little hats
and people usually it's like a shell or, seaweed you,
know and it's to protect from the. Sun during the,
pandemic we were all depressed and so people started printing
out like THREE d Like viking hats or which is,
(34:20):
hats and the sea urchins will put them. On, yeah
and sometimes they will reject the hat if it's not good. Enough,
yes and that makes me love them even.
Speaker 4 (34:28):
More.
Speaker 1 (34:29):
Yes, WELL i was also saying That i'd seen a
video of an. Octopus, yeah gifted a hat and like
the because they had like trash and a diver was
trying to bargain with this octopus and got rejected like
three or four times to finally the perfect shell and
he was willing to give up the other hat to
take that, one like it was a whole. Thing secreeachers
(34:50):
are amazing and scary to. Me.
Speaker 2 (34:53):
Agreed, agreed BUT i cannot recommend. Enough look up sea
urchins wearing. Hats you need a. Boost, also, yeah the,
boats both of.
Speaker 1 (35:07):
Them uh.
Speaker 2 (35:08):
Huh, well, listeners if you have any thoughts about, this
please let us. Know we would love to hear from.
You you can email us At stephanie Moms stuff at
iHeartMedia dot. Com you can find us On twitter at Mostuff,
podcasts or On instagram and TikTok Stuff never Told you
or lso on. YouTube we have tea public store and
we have a book you can get wherever you get your.
Books thanks always to our super Producer, christina our executive Producer,
(35:29):
maya and our Contributor. Joey thank you and thanks to
you for. Listening Stuffan Never Told you is prediction Of
My Heart. Radio for more podcasts From My Heart, radio
you can check out the Heart radio App Apple podcasts
wherever you listen to your favorite.
Speaker 4 (35:39):
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