Jeju haenyeo, the pioneers of female leadership

The Korea Times

The Korea Times

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Jeju haenyeo, the pioneers of female leadership

Posted : 2016-12-04 15:16

Updated : 2016-12-04 20:04

Lee Sun-hwa, a member of the Jeju Special Self-Governing Provincial Council / Lee Sun-hwa photo

By Kang Hyun-kyung

For the past six years, Lee Sun-hwa has campaigned for international recognition of Jeju Island's female divers, or haenyeo, as an indigenous Korean cultural asset that can inspire people around the world.

Her years of campaigning finally bore fruit. The haenyeo legacy was approved by UNESCO for addition to its Intangible Cultural Heritage list during an intergovernmental session on Wednesday in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

It became Korea's 19th cultural asset to make the list.

"We finally made it," said Lee, a member of the Jeju Special Self-Governing Provincial Council. "But the UNESCO recognition doesn't mean my mission is over. There are more follow-up measures awaiting us to make it a genuine global cultural asset."

Lee considers haenyeo pioneers of female leadership. In a male-dominated society, they were breadwinners who fed their families and provided educational opportunities for their children. Their organized power was critical to move the community forward during trying times. They teamed up to lend a helping hand to needy neighbors, particularly orphans and the elderly. They were independence fighters as well. During the Japanese occupation, they stood up against Japan's brutal rule to protect their and the islanders' rights.

"The history of Jeju Island is the history of haenyeo," said the journalist-turned-politician. "They are an integral part of this island because they are the key forces behind what Jeju stands for today."

Lee is a descendent of Jeju haenyeo. She was born, raised in and married to haenyeo families. Her mother and grandmother were divers. Her mother-in-law was a diver, too.

Her familiarity with the haenyeo developed into her mission after she was elected a council member in 2010.

Around that time, the Mie Prefecture government in Japan pushed for the campaign to put ama, the Japanese version of haenyeo, on the UNESCO list.

This prompted Lee to embark on the global campaign to recognize the haenyeo as an indigenous Korean culture that was born and developed on the island.

She hosted various events to raise public awareness of the UNESCO project and presented haenyeo as pioneers of female leadership in hearings and seminars attended by lawmakers. She also organized exhibitions featuring photos and documentaries about the haenyeo to rally support for the UNESCO proposal.

"Initially, people on Jeju didn't understand why the UNESCO project was needed," she said. "Even the haenyeo themselves were shy about their contributions to their family and the local economy. They considered themselves underwater laborers and said their legacy was not something that deserves global recognition."

For many senior haenyeo, diving was not the career they themselves chose. They had no other career options, but diving. In the 1960s when the nation was very poor, many girls on the island had no access to education. They were encouraged to sacrifice so their male siblings would have better educational opportunities.

Uneducated, those girls were encouraged to go to the sea for a living.

Lee said it was difficult to change the female divers' perception of their role in the community.

She met National Assembly members and officials of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to rally their support for the project.

The culture ministry initially was preparing to submit Korean haenyeo to UNESCO's list. The ministry shifted to narrow its focus on Jeju haeneyo, not Korean haenyeo, after a meeting with Lee.

"Haenyeo were originally from Jeju Island and some of them migrated to the northeastern province of Gangwon-do or the southeastern coastal cities of Busan or Geoje to make a living in the 1930s," she said. "That's why I persuaded the culture ministry people to change the course of action by focusing on Jeju haenyeo, not haenyeo in general."

hkang@ktimes.com