Thursday, January 3, 2013

100 Things I Love About Korea # 28: Women Divers

Korea is a peninsula surrounded by countless islands.  People here "farm" both land and sea.  Korea's HaeYeon or "Sea Women" are beautiful and poignant examples of adaptation, strength, and entrepreneurism.
Diving without oxygen to up to 20 meters (70 feet) deep, these ladies pull up shell fish, seaweed, and all sorts of other food items.  I've done some free diving, and 30 feet is about my limit.  At 30 feet, my ears are pounding, and my lungs are burning.  Going down is fun, but coming up, it feels like the surface is never going to arrive.  I have all kinds of respect for these ladies.
Also, anyone who works into their 70s or 80s deserves props.  I'm just saying, I hope I can still walk when I'm 70, much less dive down as many feet as years I've lived!

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