Men Finally Exposed as “Weak Under the Sea”

For ages, the sea women of Jeju, an island off the southern coast of South Korea, have braved the treacherous waters of the Korea Strait, even during the frigid winters. Using only flippers and goggles — no breathing equipment — they scour the sea bottom for abalone, conch and octopus.

If this New York Times piece on Korean haenyeo women doesn’t already seem like an excellent read (there is also an excellent slideshow), how about this:

As late as the early 1960s, 21 percent of the island’s women were professional divers, their bounty accounting for 60 percent of Jeju’s fisheries revenue. While brides in other parts of South Korea were expected to provide a dowry, on Jeju the men paid a bride price.

South Korean Sea Women: Getting Paper Since 1699. Okay, best for last:

“Diving was the lifeline for the entire family,” said Ku Young-bae, 63, one of 270 sea women from Hado-ri, a cluster of villages on Jeju’s eastern shore, before swimming into the waves recently. “Men are lazy,” she said. “They can’t dive. They are weak under the sea, where it’s really life or death.”

#YoungBae. [NYT]

Photo via Brian Miller/Flickr