People call them the diving grandmas of Jeju Island, but to each other they’re just haenyeo — sea women. No oxygen tanks for these Koreans, the oldest of whom are over 80 years old and have been heading into the ocean for more than six decades. Dodging storms, stinging jellyfish, and sharks in search of octopus, oysters, urchins, seaweed, and abalone to sell, these women represent a tradition that transformed the jelly bean-shaped island into a semi-matriarchal society more than 300 years ago. Diving didn’t make men much money back in the 18th century, so they didn’t do it unless they really had to supplement their farming income. But women didn’t have to pay taxes, so they could make big profits digging for sea creatures on the ocean floor. Tens of thousands of female divers created an industry that saw gender roles reversed, the women becoming breadwinners as the men took on the bulk of shopping and childcare duties. In an interview with Lucky Peach, modern haenyeo Mun Yeon Ok said “Jeju women are tough and burly. Most Koreans, when they are old, they are dependent on their children for an allowance. But haenyo, even if we are eighty, we earn our own money and we don’t have to be dependent on anyone.” Asked about the future of haenyeo, she said “I don’t know. The ocean is polluted and nothing grows in it.” Image via Baraka50 on Flickr. #diver #womandiver #jeju #history

A post shared by Women Adventurers Worldwide (@womenadventurers) on Feb 3, 2017 at 7:11pm PST