Exhibition | Mother in the Sea, Haenyeo - by Joon Choi

Exhibition of the renowned Korean advertising photographer, Joon Choi, who followed the Haenyeo (Women of the Sea) for almost a year.
Haenyeo are female divers in the Korean province of Jeju. They are representative of matriarchal family structure of Jeju island, has long tradition since 7th century. Without any special diving gear, they dive undersea as deep as 5-10m, collect abalone, shell, ceylon moss, seal seed and such. They learn their skills from their mother and start training in the age of eight and begin their profession in the age of fifteen. To become skillful Haenyeo they must learn how to hold their breath, withstand the water pressure, cold temperature of water. Also they need to develop brave instinct for they ofter encounter a big fish that can be threatening. They are the experts of sea life under water geography.