Haenyeo Divers: The Sea Women of Korea’s Jeju Island

Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls

Rebel Girls

Kids & Family, Stories For Kids, Education For Kids

4.5 • 7K Ratings

🗓️ 22 July 2025

⏱️ 15 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

For over 400 years, the Haenyeo "sea women" have been diving deep into the icy waters off the coast of Korea to collect shellfish and seaweed. They do this all without oxygen tanks! Generations of Haenyeo have preserved traditions and the water’s sensitive ecosystem. Listen in to learn more about the real-life Mermaids of Jeju Island! This podcast is a production of Rebel Girls. It’s based on the book series Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls. This episode was narrated by Rebecca Rose . It was produced, written and fact-checked by Danielle Roth, with sound design and mixing by Carter Woghan. Ashton Carter directed the voice over. The story was edited by Haley Dapkus. Our executive producers were Joy Smith, Anjelika Temple, and Jes Wolfe.Original theme music was composed and performed by Elettra Bargiacchi. A special thanks to the whole Rebel Girls team, who make this podcast possible! Until next time, staaaay rebel!

Transcript

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0:00.0	Two million years ago, underwater volcanoes started oozing molten lava into the sea.
0:21.6	The gushing and glowing lava flows transformed into hard volcanic rock that now make up the rugged coast
0:29.6	of a small island named Jeju.
0:33.6	Located 50 miles from South Korea, Jeju Island is special to the people who have lived there for generations.
0:41.3	Waves crash onto black sand beaches.
0:44.3	Birds fly past cliffs, forged from volcanic activity,
0:48.3	and fresh mist blows from the island's many waterfalls.
0:53.3	And on the beaches, mermaids, yes, mermaids, sing and laugh before plunging into the cold sea waters to dive for valuable treasure.
1:06.0	These mermaids aren't mythical figures.
1:10.0	They are real-life legends.
1:14.5	They call themselves Hen-Yo, which means women of the sea in Korean.
1:20.6	Henya uphold a tradition that dates back hundreds of years all the way back to the 1600s.
1:33.4	Today's Henel are mothers and grandmothers who learned how to free dive from their mothers and grandmothers.
1:34.8	But this way of life is in jeopardy.
1:38.8	Now, many Henyo are asking, who will be the next generation of mermaids?
1:59.0	I'm Rebecca Rose, and this is Goodnight Stories for Rebel Girls,
2:03.9	a fairy tale podcast about the real-life rebel women who inspire us.
2:09.8	On this episode, the Henel Free Divers of South Korea,
2:13.6	and what it means to be a real-life legend.
2:24.3	Thank you. and what it means to be a real-life legend. 13-year-old young me stood at the edge of a rocky beach on Jeju Island,
2:29.3	shivering in her thin cotton suit, the best technology available for diving in the 1950s.
2:36.0	The cold sea stretched endlessly before her, dark and mysterious.
	...

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