济州海女：潜入深海的最后传承者
Off the southern coast of South Korea, on the volcanic island of Jeju, a group of women in black wetsuits wade into the cold sea, carrying only nets and a curved knife. They are the haenyeo, or “sea women,” and they hold their breath for up to two minutes to gather abalone, sea urchins, and octopus from the ocean floor.
For centuries, the haenyeo have supported their families through free-diving, a tradition born from a tax system that once forced coastal women to collect seafood. Unlike many fishing cultures, this became a female-dominated profession, with knowledge passed from mother to daughter. At its peak in the 1960s, over 20,000 haenyeo worked the waters around Jeju.
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