Jeju Special Self-Governing Province on Sept. 8 announced its hosting of the 17th Jeju Haenyeo (Female Diver) Festival from Sept. 20-22 at Haenyeo Museum in the town of Gujwa-eup in Jeju City, Jeju Island, and the nearby beach. Shown is last year’s event in September 2023 at the museum complex.
By Charles Audouin
Photos = Jeju Special Self-Governing Province
Jeju Special Self-Governing Province on Sept. 8 announced its hosting of the 17th Jeju Haenyeo (Female Diver) Festival from Sept. 20-22 at Haenyeo Museum in the town of Gujwa-eup in Jeju City, Jeju Island, and the nearby beach.
As a prelude to the festival, a general meeting and ceremony on Sept. 20 will mark the foundation of the National Haenyeo Association, a network of 10,000 haenyeo, at the hotel Maison Glad Jeju.
The festival’s official opening on Sept. 21 will feature a street parade, Haenyeo Day ceremony and Haenyeo Taewak Swimming Competition, in which the divers will perform muljil, or diving into the sea to collect seafood. The next day will feature events like interactive programs, haenyeo cultural performances and exhibitions.
Jung Jae-cheol, head of the Jeju government’s Marine and Fisheries Bureau, said, “We hope that the Haenyeo Festival is not only a festival for Jeju haenyeo but also for those on the Korean Peninsula, and serve as an opportunity for the global spread of Jeju haenyeo fishing culture, a globally important heritage of agriculture and fisheries.”
Held every year with the Haenyeo Day ceremony, the festival seeks to preserve, pass on and promote haenyeo fishing culture, which is a globally important agricultural heritage system of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
Last year’s edition attracted 35,000 visitors.
This is the official poster for the 17th Jeju Haenyeo Festival slated from Sept. 20-22.
caudouin@korea.kr
