This documentary is about the lives of ‘Haenyo’ who are women divers living on Jeju Island, Korea. ‘Haenyo’ is women who dive about 10~20 meters under the sea without a breathing apparatus, holding their breath for about 2~3 minutes, to pick marine products like abalone, top shells and seaweed. The law prohibits the use of oxygen tanks for these activities, so the method is primitive and the work is extremely arduous.Haenyo believe in a paradise called ‘Iodo’, an ...more

This documentary is about the lives of ‘Haenyo’ who are women divers living on Jeju Island, Korea. ‘Haenyo’ is women who dive about 10~20 meters under the sea without a breathing apparatus, holding their breath for about 2~3 minutes, to pick marine products like abalone, top shells and seaweed. The law prohibits the use of oxygen tanks for these activities, so the method is primitive and the work is extremely arduous.Haenyo believe in a paradise called ‘Iodo’, an island of the nether world. They use Iodo as a way to overcome the barren. Their beliefs and hopes, joys and sorrows are well expressed in their song ‘Iodo Sana’. The director has organically tied in their songs with their lives, deaths and the culture in an attempt to shed light on a group of women who will soon disappear into history.less