Busan’s hidden gem: A 50-year-old haenyeo village serving the ocean’s bounty

A seafood platter served at Daebyeon-ri Haenyeo Village in Busan / Korea Times photo by Lee Han-ho

By Hankookilbo

• Published Aug 20, 2025 10:48 AM KST

On Busan’s eastern shoreline, past the neon lights of Haeundae Beach and the towers of Songjeong Beach, the coast narrows into quiet fishing villages. Here in Daebyeon-ri, Gijang County, stands a haenyeo village that has carried its traditions on for half a century, where the ocean’s catch and the divers who harvest it remain at the center of community life.

The village began with nothing more than red plastic basins. Decades ago, haenyeo (female divers who harvest seafood by hand) returning from the sea would place freshly caught abalone, sea cucumbers and sea squirts into tubs while rinsing off by the pier.

Passersby asked to buy the seafood on the spot, and word soon spread. Over time, the basins became makeshift stalls, and the stalls grew into a cluster of seafood restaurants that today line Daebyeon Port.

“Back then, people would say, ‘Give me some of that,’ when they saw us wash up with our catch,” recalled veteran haenyeo Im Mal-sook, 78. “If they asked us to slice it, we did. That’s how it all started here.”

Now, dozens of shops serve seafood pulled directly from the Gijang coast: abalone, octopus, conches, spoon worms, clams and more. During the summer vacation season, the village buzzes with tourists eager for what many locals insist is the freshest seafood in Korea.

Pride in the harvest

The Gijang coast is renowned for seaweed and anchovies, which nourish abalone, sea urchins and other shellfish. The abundance has long drawn haenyeo from across the country, and both Daebyeon-ri and nearby Yeonhwa-ri maintain villages dedicated to their craft.

Im, who retired last year at her daughter’s urging, said the work was grueling but rewarding. “I’ve been selling seafood for over 40 years, and some of the people who bought from me then still come back,” she said with a smile. “You won’t find seafood like this anywhere else.”

Each restaurant offers variations of the same signature dishes: seafood platters, grilled eel and abalone porridge.

The platters arrive vivid and brimming, as though lifted straight from the ocean floor — abalone, sea cucumbers, sea squirts, conches and octopus arranged with care, alongside side dishes of cockles, conches and seaweed.

But it is abalone porridge that defines the village. Served in the pot it was cooked in, the porridge comes rich and deep green from generous portions of abalone innards.

“Before you even taste it, the aroma hits you,” said one shop owner. “People worry it will be too heavy, but soon they’re scraping the bottom of the pot.” Because it is cooked fresh, diners are advised to order it when they first sit down.

A community bound by the sea

The haenyeo once ran the village collectively, sharing tents and rotating shifts to keep service running day and night. “We would send all the customers to one tent at 6 p.m., and then stay open through the night until dawn,” Im recalled. “When the next group came out, we finally went in to sleep.”

That rhythm has slowed as the divers age. Most shops now close by early evening, unable to match the all-night schedules of earlier years. Only six of the 20 haenyeo in Daebyeon-ri still dive themselves.

Beyond the haenyeo village, visitors can explore Gijang Market, about 3 kilometers away. Established in 1944, the market retains its reputation as a community hub where 70 percent of vendors sell seafood, often piled high in red tubs.

Hagfish are sliced deftly at street stalls, while abalone and seaweed overflow from their basins. Unlike Busan’s Jagalchi Market, now a major tourist stop, Gijang Market still feels like a local lifeline.

For a quieter escape, Ilgwang Beach lies just north of the port. Its shallow, calm waters and stretches of seaweed fields make it a favorite for families. Every August, the beach hosts the Gaetmaeul Festival, celebrating the culture and heritage of the haenyeo.

Though fewer haenyeo dive today, the community remains a vivid reminder of a tradition shaped by the sea.

From its beginnings with red tubs on the pier to its present-day cluster of restaurants, Daebyeon-ri haenyeo village continues to offer not only seafood, but also stories of resilience, camaraderie and a heritage still alive in Busan’s waves.

This article from the Hankook Ilbo, a sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.