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What if someone told you that mermaids really existed?
Forget fishtails, we're talking about women who can hold their breath for minutes while diving under the sea several hundred times a day.
They are South Korea's haenyeo divers, a community of women on Jeju Island who have been freediving (without oxygen) to harvest seafood for centuries.
Today, when most of them are between 60, 70 and 80 years old, their traditions and way of life are in danger, as fewer and fewer young women enter the profession and the ocean risks to become unrecognizable.
It was these facts that inspired Korean-American filmmaker Sue Kim to team up with women's education advocate and Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafazai to share their story with the world.
The daughter of Korean immigrants, American-born Kim first discovered haenyeo as a child on vacation in South Korea.
“I was so struck by them for the same reasons you see in the movie – they were incredibly bold and dynamic and confident. They were also so loud… fighting and laughing, and they gave off this very big energy and shamelessly occupied their space,” says Lee.
“I fell in love with the whole vibe and high energy when I was little. And so I grew up fascinated by it. It was a version of Korean femininity that inspired me and wanted to emulate “, she adds. .
“I was so shocked that I didn't know haenyeo, since so many people didn't know it, I immediately said yes,” says Malala, who was a producer on the film.
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The women prepare their catch together every afternoon
“The story really became urgent about 10 years ago when I discovered that these were probably the last generation of haenyeo,” Lee says. “It has become more and more urgent to make sure that someone is documenting…while we still have him and while he can still tell us his own story in his own words.”
The film follows the women in their grueling work during the harvest season and examines the challenges they face in and out of the water.
They go diving every day at 6 a.m. They hold their breath for a few minutes, rise to the surface and come back down – between 100 and 300 times per session.
Just imagine the fitness level. They harvest for four hours, then spend another three or four hours shelling and preparing their catch.
There are various theories as to why women began taking on this traditionally male job so many years ago. The Visit Jeju website says the number of men was generally low in the population, as a large portion of them died in the rough seas while fishing from boats.
As a result, there weren't many men to exploit the ocean, so women gradually took over.
“Sad Grandma Trope”
This is the first major documentary on haenyeo and Kim says it was difficult to access.
“Haenyeo communities are very insular,” she explains.
“They are rural communities that live in fishing villages. They don't interact much with the towns of Jeju.”
Kim found a researcher who had a history with NGOs and had contacts in the community.
“So this woman…introduced us, and then I came down and spent basically two weeks with…the Haenyeo communities and really gained their trust. And I did that by mostly listening.
“Basically, they wanted to talk about everything that was happening to them.
“They wanted to talk about feeling like they were on the brink of extinction. They wanted to talk about what was happening to the ocean that no one seemed to know about or care about.”
Kim says she had to reassure women that she wouldn't stereotype them or pity them for working into old age.
“They love to work! They think they are so strong and more empowered by doing it.”
Kim told them she would show them in their “true power.”
“'I promise I won't accept this sad grandma trope because that's not how I see you, I see you as heroes,'” she explained to the group.
“After that, we became a family.”
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Can the younger generation ensure the survival of haenyeo culture?
The risks are great. There is no insurance available for this job because it is too dangerous. And now the ocean – and women’s livelihoods – are under threat.
Global warming is leading to a decline in marine life, particularly in shallow waters; diving deeper is more difficult without oxygen.
Much of the film focuses on women's protests against the release of radioactive water from Japan's Fukishima power plant (Jeju bordering Japan) into the ocean, which brings one of the haeneyeos, Soon Deok Jang, directly before the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.
The message from experts is, overwhelmingly, that the release is safe and has gotten the green light from the International Atomic Energy Agency – but not all scientists agree on the impact that she will have.
Although haenyeo harvest marine life, regulations are in place regarding when they are allowed to harvest certain seafood, which helps protect the ecosystem.
Another reason they don't use oxygen tanks is that “they believe that by holding their breath, it will allow them to harvest the natural amount of marine life that they should harvest,” says Kim, who which helps prevent overfishing.
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Both Malala Yousafzai and Sue Kim were drawn to Haenyeo's unique story.
But perhaps the biggest threat comes from within, as fewer young women choose to pursue this difficult profession.
A training school was created in the early 2000s to try to stem the decline in numbers, but only 5% of participants become haenyeos.
But all is not lost. The film introduces us to two young women from another island who found their audience on social media and highlights the flexible schedules that work can offer around family life. One of them had to learn to swim at the age of 30 to pursue this profession.
Older women meet them at festivals and events – they call them “their babies” while in return they are called “aunties”.
Yousafzai is inspired: “When I look at the haenyeo and the way they work together, I am reminded of the collective work women are doing everywhere else, including the advocacy Afghan women are doing to raise awareness about the systematic oppression they face. are confronted. .”
“When a girl watches this documentary, I want her to believe in herself and realize that she can do anything. She can stay underwater for two to three minutes without oxygen,” she says. “And of course, I still have to take swimming lessons to learn how to swim! I'm at ground zero, but this made me want to consider swimming.”
The Last of the Sea Women is available on Apple TV+ from October 11, 2024.
