SOUTH KOREA | Monday, 14 January 2013 | Views [889] | Comments [1] | View Larger Image
Harbinger of Hegemony. Unmindful of her weather-torn skin even just as the sun has risen, this grandma (like other members –most of whom are aged more than 60 y.o.--of the dying breed of haenyo or literally translated as sea women and can hold their breath for a long time without scuba apparatus) takes a moment on the coast to unload and inspect her find before diving back and toughing it out again and again in the freezing waters and other likely perilous encounters brought by jellyfish or even sharks--among many others--in order to gather baskets full of bounty with promises that by doing so she is paving the way for especially her female descendants’ opportunities for less harsher conditions. (Jeju, South Korea)
Tags: haenyo, grandma, diving, jeju, south korea