In Jeju, there are more fisherwomen than fishermen, a very rare occurrence anywhere in the world, truly unique to Jeju. They’re called the Jeju Mermaids, or haenyeo in the local Korean dialect.  

You can’t go anywhere on the island without noticing their presence. All around the island there are statues of them. I saw women pulling traps from the sea and dragging them to land. Groups of women in ratty wetsuits emerging from the water. Walking from the beach or on the side of the road, wetsuit half off, flippers and mask in hand, nets full of fish. They’re selling fish in the market, from roadside carts, and in sidewalk cafes.

There’s a sense of camaraderie, community, and self-sufficiency. It’s curious to find this in Korea, a place where gender roles and gender hierarchy seem clearly defined and adhered to.

History of the Jeju Mermaids

It all started when the powers that be passed a tax on fishermen and their loot. But the women of the island took advantage of the law’s loophole – it only specified a tax on fishermen. So the women of the island began to take the reins, catching fish and becoming the breadwinners of the families. I’m not sure what the men turned to, but it shifted the fishing industry and the family dynamics on the island, passing on through the generations.

Nowadays, the majority of the mermaids are over the age of fifty. Most of the daughters are choosing a different life outside of the sea in the tourist industry or other less strenuous and dangerous employment.

And I don’t blame them; the work of the mermaids isn’t easy or safe. They don’t use fishing boats. Instead, they free dive upwards of 60 feet in the icy East China Sea to catch shellfish, octopus and abalone. Many suffer from chronic health problems and between 2009 and 2014, 46 women died from diving-related health conditions.

It’s a profession that is dwindling, but the many statues that honor the mermaids will be a reminder for future generations of who were the backbone of the fishing economy for hundreds of years: the Jeju Mermaids.

How to Find the Mermaids

Some of the Mermaids own and operate a restaurant in a cove at the bottom of Seongsan Ilchulbong. They put on a fishing show twice a day, 1:30 and 3:00, showing how they catch the fish. You can grub on their fresh catches right there with an incredible view of the mountain and blue sea.