济州岛’海女’ 文化濒临消逝

choi

Choe Sang-Hun, 济州岛’海女’ 文化濒临消逝. 纽约时报中文网, Apr 8, 2014
cn.nytimes.com/asia-pacific/20140408/c08divers/


, which is translated from

Choe Sang-Hun, Hardy Divers in Korea Strait, ‘Sea Women’ Are Dwindling. New York Times, Mar 23, 2014.

Quote:

"For ages, the sea women of Jeju * * * braved the treacherous waters of the Korea Strait, even during the frigid winters. Using only flippers and goggles — no breathing equipment — they scour the sea bottom for abalone, conch and octopus [in water more than 20 feet deep--as deep as 40 feet--barehanded or sometimes with a spear].

"The reversal of traditional gender roles, with women being the chief breadwinners, made the island an outlier in Korea’s patriarchal society. But the work is hard and dangerous. Since 2009, 40 divers have died, including three this year.

"The number of sea women has dwindled to about 4,500, from 26,000 in the 1960s, with 84 percent of them 60 or older.

"For as long as Koreans can remember, sea women have been as emblematic of Jeju as snow-capped Mount Halla at its center. They duck under water more than 100 times a day, grabbing sea creatures barehanded or sometimes with a spear.

"By the 17th century, as men went to sea to fish or row warships and never returned, diving become exclusively women’s work, said Kang Kwon-yong, curator of the government-run Haenyeo Museum.

"Until recently, sea women from Jeju also worked along the coasts of mainland South Korea.

"The divers adhere to a strict hierarchy. Young divers stay clear of the shallow waters where the older and weaker women dive.

"Their economic independence contributed to Jeju’s divorce rates, the highest in South Korea. But despite their essential role, the divers were held in low esteem by a society that frowned on women traveling outside their villages and revealing bare skin.


My comment:
(a)
(i) Korea Strait
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korea_Strait
(The strait is split by the Tsushima Island into the western channel and the Tsushima Strait (eastern channel))

This is the first time I heard of “Korea Strait.” Then this is written by a Korean, about Korea.
(ii) Japanese--and Taiwanese--call the entire strait Tsushima Strait, not just the eastern channel. See

対馬海峡
ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/対馬海峡
(対馬海峡（つしまかいきょう）とは、九州と朝鮮半島の間にあり、東シナ海と日本海を連絡する海峡; 国際的には「朝鮮海峡」（Korea Strait）と呼ばれることが多く、「対馬海峡」（Tsushima Strait）は対馬と九州との間にあたる海峡の呼称として用いられる場合が多いが、海峡全体を「対馬海峡」（Tsushima Strait）と呼ぶこともある)

translation: 対馬海峡 is the strait between 九州 and 朝鮮半島 and connects East China Sea and Sea of Japan; Internationally many call it Korea Strait, and refer to the strait [sic, not channel] between Tsushima Islands and 九州 as Tsushima Strait, though some others call the entire strait Tsushima Strait.
(b) For Mount Halla, see Hallasa  漢拏山
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hallasan
(Elevation 1,950 m (6,398 ft))
(c) “Today, the 714-square-mile island is as famous for its citrus orchards as for its pearly beaches, golf courses and esplanades overlooking black cliffs where lava met the sea ages ago.”

If one googles Jeju beach, he will find beaches of white sand. This is different from Taiwan, which is volcanic and whose beaches all have BLACK sand, the color of lava when cold.
(d) “'Diving was the lifeline for the entire family,' said Ku Young-bae, 63, one of 270 sea women from Hado-ri, a cluster of villages on Jeju’s eastern shore, before swimming into the waves recently. 'Men are lazy,' she said. 'They can’t dive. They are weak under the sea, where it’s really life or death.'”

济州特别自治道济州市旧左邑 下道里渔村契