This-as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Kylie Genter, 36, a Haenyeo diver on Jeju Island, South Korea. It’s been edited for length and clarity.
I’d been teaching English in South Korea for four years when I learned about the Haenyeo — female freedivers who harvest seafood without using modern equipment. I was interested. So, in the summer of 2018, I completed diving lessons with the hopes that maybe I could work with them one day.
A few years later, my Korean husband, a scuba diver, read on a diving group chat that a small village on the southwestern side of Jeju Island was recruiting new divers. Their youngest diver was 68 — I wanted to give it a try.
At first, I was rejected, but I got invited back a month later. I don’t know what changed in that one month, but I guess they suddenly became open to it, and I went in for an interview.
In January 2024, I started as a diving intern, and after two years of training, I received my Haenyeo license in April.
Finding my footing in South Korea
I was born in upstate New York, the middle of three kids. I went to SUNY Oswego and graduated with a degree in communications.
After graduating in 2012, I didn’t know what I wanted to do. I applied to a few graduate schools and jobs, but nothing worked out. I was stressed out and wanted to leave. I thought about going to Japan to teach English, as I’d studied Japanese for a year while in university.
Instead, I settled for South Korea, where some schools offered housing. I didn’t know much about Korea at that time — I wasn’t really a big K-pop fan before I came.
So, just four months after graduating, I moved to Jinju, a three-and-a-half-hour high-speed train ride from Seoul, to work as an English teacher. In the mornings, I’d do 20-minute lessons with kids. In the afternoon, I’d have speaking classes.
I continued teaching until August 2020. That same year, I got married and started a pension business with my husband, while still teaching English on the side.
Building my life as a diver
To get my license, I had to dive 50 days within a year, sell 1.2 million South Korean won, or $884, worth of catch, and get a unanimous vote from the divers in the collective. It took me two years.
Language was an issue; despite having spent years in the country, I still couldn’t always understand what was happening. My biggest strength is that I’m physically fitter than some of the divers — they are mostly in their 70s and 80s. So, I help out, like when they need someone to carry their nets full of catches or wash the dishes.
A lot of the work is physically demanding. If you don’t feel good, you can’t just push through. I can’t dive if I have a cold or my sinuses are blocked because I can’t equalize underwater. It’s important to keep my body physically strong and healthy through working out.
Committing to an unconventional job
I enjoy my life. Every day is different, and I do a lot of things besides diving. I run a pet hotel with my husband; sometimes I still tutor and give lectures. I work more hours, but I also have a lot more flexibility to pursue other things. I don’t need permission for a break or a day off.
On normal days, I wake up and take the dogs for a walk. Then, I go diving depending on the weather. If it’s not great, I only dive for two or three hours. A normal day of diving may take four or five. After that, I take the dogs for another walk.
In our village, we typically dive five days a week. We’ll take our catch and accumulate it after one cycle. After that, we’ll sell it to the regional fishing co-operative. They’ll pay our president, and she then distributes the money.
Being a diver isn’t a full-time job. A lot of what we earn depends on the catch. I make around $2,000 a year. Teaching is much more financially stable. But I love learning from women who have been carrying on this work for generations.
When I’m diving, nothing else matters. I just have to focus on diving and catching seafood. Nobody can call me. I don’t have to look at my phone and waste time doomscrolling.
When I’m deep underwater, it can be meditative, especially on days when the ocean is calm, and there’s plenty to catch. I see myself wedded to this village for the rest of my life.
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