The last amazons of the sea: how Jeju Island’s female divers conquered the ocean and science
Against the roar of the ocean, with wind in her face and waves crashing at her feet, an elderly woman steps into the icy water. She’s 72. No scuba tank. No fear. She’s a Haenyeo. And she’s ready for another deep dive into the sea — a ritual passed down through generations.
This isn’t a scene from a superhero movie. It’s the everyday reality of Jeju Island, off the southern tip of the Korean Peninsula. Here, among black volcanic rocks and salt-laced air, lives a unique community of women — the last guardians of an ancient profession: the Haenyeo, or “women of the sea.”
They free dive up to 60 feet (18 meters) deep hundreds of times a day, without oxygen tanks — just a mask, fins, and iron determination. In storms and snow, even while pregnant, and well into their 70s and 80s.
And now, for the first time, science has confirmed what islanders have long believed: these women are biologically different.
When legend meets science
On May 2, the journal Cell Reports published groundbreaking research revealing that Haenyeo women have genetic traits that help them withstand extreme underwater conditions:
- Lower blood pressure response during dives,
- Higher tolerance to cold and pain,
- A stronger and faster mammalian dive reflex, triggered by holding their breath and touching cold water.
Compared to mainland women and even non-diving women from Jeju, the Haenyeo and their local neighbors are over four times more likely to carry these unique gene variants.
Researchers also discovered that the Haenyeo have exceptionally slow heart rates during breath-hold tests — a sign of oxygen conservation, similar to marine mammals like seals. This trait was absent in the control groups, confirming it’s a result of intense lifelong training.
The last of their kind
The Haenyeo don’t just dive — they embody a culture, a dialect, a rhythm of life that’s vanishing. The average age of active divers is now around 70. Fewer and fewer young women are choosing to follow in their footsteps. Some try — most don’t stay.
But something happened this year that gave the island new hope.
April 2025: a new wave emerges
For the first time in 20 years, a formal training program was launched to pass on the Haenyeo tradition to younger generations. Young women from Seoul and Busan arrived on Jeju to apprentice under the island’s elder divers. The revival was sparked by the emotional premiere of a documentary, “Breath of the Deep,” at the Cannes Film Festival, telling the story of an 85-year-old Haenyeo who still dives daily.
Public interest surged. Local governments allocated funds for cultural preservation, and South Korean universities pledged new research support. A living tradition — once fading — may now survive.
A window into the future of medicine
One genetic variant found in Jeju’s population — associated with lower blood pressure — may pave the way for new treatments for hypertension, a condition affecting millions worldwide.
“If we can understand how this gene regulates pressure through protein changes, we could develop completely new types of medication,” researchers say.
Such studies also help redefine our understanding of what the human body is capable of. Most medical data comes from sedentary, urban populations — but humans evolved under extreme, physical, survival-based conditions. The Haenyeo may hold clues not only to our past — but to our future.
Inspiration for the world
The story of the Haenyeo is more than science. It’s a living reminder of what women can do when nature is their partner, not their adversary. It’s a lesson in resilience, balance, and awe.
As long as we can still hear their songs before a dive, see their silver hair whipping in the sea breeze, and watch the splash as they vanish beneath the waves — the world owes it to them to listen, learn, and preserve this rare legacy. Haenyeo don’t just dive. They breathe with the deep.