The Haenyeo – literally "sea women" – are a group of women who live on Jeju Island, South Korea’s largest island where a unique culture holds on to life. These women, some well into their ...

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A group of female South Korean free divers on Jeju Island, known as the Haenyeo, exit the water after catching marine snails in November 2015. Chung Sung-Jun / Getty Images On Jeju Island ...

Two others followed her. These women, whose plunge Ilardo captured on video, belong to a long line of female free divers on Jeju Island called the Haenyeo. They swam off, each with a net bag in ...

The Haenyeo women live their entire lives diving off Jeju Island, 50 miles south of mainland South Korea, spending hours each day harvesting seaweed, abalone, and other food items from the seafloor.

Jeju Haenyeo — which translates to "women of the sea" — begin diving for seafood at around the age of 15, gathering abalone, sea urchins and octopuses. According to UNESCO, members of the ...

The Haenyeo, a group of all-female divers from the Korean island of Jeju, are renowned for their ability to dive in frigid waters without the aid of breathing equipment — even while pregnant.

Research on Haenyeo divers from Jeju Island reveals genetic traits linked to low blood pressure and cold tolerance, helping them survive the stresses of free diving. These genetic changes could ...