The Last Mermaids of Jeju

Every day, Kim Ok Ja dons a wetsuit and snorkel, grabs a fishing spear and a net, and dives into the Pacific Ocean to hunt for conch and sea life that her family can eat or sell. She is 78 years old and shows no sign of slowing down. Based on the Korean island of Jeju, she is one of a dwindling group of women divers known as a “Haenyeo.”

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[icry]

She is a strong woman and I felt a lot of respect for her, she is 78 and still is able to work so hard for her family. I have to give a lot of respect.

[chewsday]

she's 78 and can hold her breath for minutes wow i aspire to be as healthy as her

[alexlozano]

see this is a bad ass. 78 and still able to do this kind of shit. I hope i can do this type of stuff when im that old

[NotKeanuYT]

wow she's 78 and still able to do that and her hair looks like it doesn't have a single gray hair on her head


This is a 3 year old comment lol. Yes I know she could've dyed it.

[Earendil_bright_star]

Back in old days, Jeju island of Korea didn't have many workable men since many of them die in Ocean.
Jeju is a volcanic island so it was so hard to grow crops. So women went to coast and started fishing.
they can swim of course, most remarkably they and hold breath longer than trained Navy seal guys. (since they dive when they were just children, no one can beat them)
This Sea woman also exist in Japan for similar reason, but I do not know the name of the place in Japan.

[HIsuiCage]

I'm Korean, and I really feel like my generation rn doesn't respect and appreciate the Korean culture and its treasures.. Sometimes I feel like we're chasing other pop cultures so much that we forget about all the good stuff WE have, and so a lot of our traditional rituals and things are disappearing because there is no one willing to pass it on.

[calebdavis]

That's what sustainable fishing looks like. This is an amazing video!!

[trex]

It'd a hard physical life. No one wants to do it anymore.

[AM-smoo]

Respect, she does stuff most of us can’t even dream of doing.

[fipper]

78 years old.

still working hard for the family.

still doing this job in order to support family.






m8.
she has lots of respect from many people.

[maruisaiahnapa]

It's hard to hear that this way of living will die out eventually, because a haenyeo's lifestyle is primarily hunter-gatherer. Maybe it could be kept alive through more exposure and teaching younger generations this method of food gathering as a sport or hobby when out on the countryside.

[browerpule]

God bless her soul and bless her with great things. She definitely inspires others to do things that they are passionate about. God bless her loving soul

[miguelramirez]

Enjoyed it the first time it was published....

[anti-socialban-anne-na]

I clicked this because I was expecting real life mermaids, like the ones from Legend of The Blue Sea, but I'm not disappointed though.

[awkwardmyrtle]

My husband (boyfriend at the time) and I spent a week hiking the beautiful Jeju Olle trails and came upon a couple of women divers who had just come up from the ocean. They opened a fresh sea urchin for us and it was the most amazing thing we've ever tasted! Really awesome memory.

[xyriusd]

I wish we all had to experience different parts of the world as a student in order to graduate. so we can see how others live and appreciate what we have even of its not much. old ladies here and even young people all just complain and sit around waiting for government money when they break a toe.

[ReviewersNation]

She’s 78 and still does diving that’s amazing! Thank you Great Big Story

[nokiavideos]

78 grandma on motorcycle getting her own food from the wilderness gave me life

[edqlyn]

I cried a little she works sooo hard and she has a smile when she works

[holy]

This made me miss my grandma, I wanna hug her.