Mr. Lee had earlier called ahead to check if there would be a performance from the Haenyeo divers today, and advised us that the show had been cancelled because of high tides and rough seas. Not surprising, given the rain we’ve already seen today in the morning. Fortunately, we allocated two days to try to catch the Haenyeo divers, so we’ll try again tomorrow.
In the meantime, and since we now had a free afternoon block to fill, Mr. Lee suggested that we visit the Jeju Haenyeo Museum, then Snoopy Garden. I’d read about the former place but dropped it, and the latter was a wishlist place that the daughter shared only last week. Fortunately, we were able to fit both places in.
Jeju Haenyeo Museum is a three-floor museum that is dedicated to documenting and celebrating the famed Haenyeo women divers of Jeju. The first two floors include exhibition areas showing their lifestyle since they first started almost 90 years ago, their attire, and equipment. Each static exhibit is accompanied by info boards that include English translations, and there is a section that features TV displays showing interviews with retired elderly women who were formerly Haenyeo divers themselves.
If you’re already scheduled to watch the Jeju Haenyeo divers perform, I’d strongly recommend that you visit the museum first: it’d really give you a better understanding of why they do what they do, the challenges they face, and the rigid system they work within in order to sustain their harvesting of marine life.