Often likened to mermaids in media reports and popular culture, South Korea’s famed Haenyeo (“sea women”) spend much of the day underwater, diving without scuba gear to collect abalone, octopus, kelp ...

Follow Korea's oldest free divers on their underwater treasure hunt. The volcanic island of Jeju is a wild paradise sitting just off the coast of the Korean peninsula. It is said to be plentiful in ...

The Haenyeo women who dive deep into the East China Sea to harvest sea urchins and shellfish spend the most time underwater of any humans ever studied — one to five hours a day, researchers report ...

Imprints of evolution can be seen among the Haenyeo of South Korea. After generations of foraging for food on the seabed, these all-women divers have fostered several genetic adaptations that allow ...

Haenyeo Female divers, referred to as haenyeo in Korean, work in waters off Jeju Island on Dec. 10, 2025, to collect seafood. (Yonhap) (END) [We Welcome Your News Tips] We invite our readers to submit ...

Research on Haenyeo divers from Jeju Island reveals genetic traits linked to low blood pressure and cold tolerance, helping them survive the stresses of free diving. These genetic changes could ...

As the number of haenyeo increased, it seemed the Jeju sea just wasn’t big enough. Newspaper and magazine articles during the Japanese colonization of Korea (1910-45), also on display, show that ...

One of the Jeju treasures is the traditional figure of the haenyeo female divers of the island (해녀). For centuries, female divers played a key role in the economy of the island by harvesting shellfish ...

Amid New York’s ever-globalizing culinary scene, a culture of cross-pollination continues to thrive. The city’s finest barbecue shack sells not just Texas brisket but stellar jerk pork. An ambitious ...

A new DNA analysis of Korea’s all-women extreme divers has uncovered genetic adaptations that uniquely protect them from the intense stresses of plunging into coastal waters without oxygen. The ...