The Sea Women

Running Time:60 minutes
Writer:Gloria Chang
Producer:Yvonne Gall
Broadcaster:CBC Radio, IDEAS
Broadcast Date:Monday, April 28, 2008
CBC Radio One, 9PM across Canada
Sirius Satellite 137 across North America (various times)
Original Broadcast: Thursday, October 18, 2007
Listen to CBC Radio on the Internet
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They're called haenyo or Sea Women. Sunburnt and wrinkled, the strongest of these grandmothers can dive up to 20 metres, holding their breath for three or four minutes. Their dives mix dexterity, desire and death: the greedy and unlucky getting caught among the rocks underwater, left to perish. At the surface, they let out a melancholy whistle before gulping in air to submerge again, up and down, up and down, until the day's work is done.

Since as early as the 4th century, the Sea Women have been harvesting commercial treasures off the ocean floor - octopus, abalone, sea urchin, sea slugs and sea cucumber - with only a few tools in hand and a fishing basket slung over their shoulders. They are the primary breadwinners in their families. With gritty endurance and an even stronger will to survive, the Sea Women have faced the fury of the sea and a deeply rooted patriarchal society - and triumphed. But why is it that only women take to the waters?