World's Oldest Divers | Haenyeo: South Korea's Most Dangerous Tradition | Free Documentary
Every Dive Could Be Their Last | Haenyeo: South Korea's Most Dangerous Tradition | Free Documentary
In Jeju Province, located off the southern coast of Korea, are the women of the sea who hold the breath of life. Typhoons and the barren volcanic soil of the islands left the people enduring years of poor harvests and famine. For survival, women looked to the frigid sea. Haenyeos, women of the sea, still exist, and they have been diving without air tanks for more than 1,000 years. They go into waters 10 to 20 meters deep to harvest seaweed and shellfish to make a living. They work from 7 to 8 hours a day without even a sip of fresh water. At the end of the day, they return with sumbisori, a whale-like noise at the end of their breath.
They make a living in the same sea, but each has a different story. A mother and her daughters dive together, making themselves a third-generation haenyeo. Another one started diving to pay off the debts of her gambling husband. Many hold their breath to support their children through school. A haenyeo continues her life at sea, despite having lost her daughter-a fellow haenyeo-to the sea. They have only one thing in common. All hold their breath for life. For a better life, they hold their breath as long as they can.
The community is divided into three tiers - Group A, B and C, based on only one thing. The length of breath… One’s rank is determined by the sum of breath. They believe sum is predetermined at birth. Group B shall never brave the waters of Group A. Every year, there are deaths due to mulsum or breathing underwater, which refers to the water haenyeos drink when they run out of their own breath. It is the result of a failed attempt to push one’s limit. It represents a desire and temptation that could not be contained. Life, for these women of the sea, is about holding one’s breath, and containing and controlling one’s desire.
This film is a 7-year record of the lives of the haenyeos in Udo, an islet in the province of Jeju, known as the birthplace of haenyeos. It is a close look into the lives of strong women who stand on the boundary of life and death.
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Published Jul 15, 2026
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