Korea pushes tenacity as uniquely haenyeo
Published: 09 Mar. 2014, 20:39
While the Cultural Heritage Administration is gearing up to submit its request this month, the Japanese government has also started to review having the culture of its female divers, who are called ama, be internationally reckoned as an intangible asset.
Korea took the lead in seeking the Unesco recognition, beginning the registration process in 2007. President Park Geun-hye also put in a special request to Unesco’s Director General Irina Bokova, who visited Korea early last month.
Japan reportedly has been having a hard time filing all the documents needed for the registration, with the deadline coming up this month. Most significantly, the Japanese government has not yet registered the ama’s tradition of diving to catch seafood as a cultural asset yet, which is a step required for Unesco recognition.
“It is hard to say that there is no possibility that such scheme could work, pushing the registration of haenyeo back until 2016,” said Bak Sang-mee, professor of international studies at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies.
If that scenario really plays out, single registration or co-registration would depend on whether the Unesco committee members see more similarities or differences between the two countries’ diving cultures.
In “Samguk Sagi,” the historical record of the Three Kingdoms of Korea written in 1145 by Kim Bu-sik (1075-1151), Kim writes of how women dug up pearls in the sixth century, which strongly implies they were diving underwater. The Chinese document “The Records of the Three Kingdoms,” written by Chen Shou (233-297), also records some seafood being caught underwater in the third century. However, the appearances of such women making a living as divers arose in the early 20th century.
There are no big differences in the gear and outfits used by the divers in Korea and Japan. Both wear wet suits and carry a round bag to control buoyancy. Divers also use the bag to help them rest or to keep their underwater harvests safe.
The biggest difference between the haenyeo and ama is gender. While Japanese divers work with men, who pull up the women from below using ropes, Jeju haenyeo work without any male help.
“We think there is a good chance that haenyeo culture will be registered by the end of next year as we are writing our registration request based on that spirit of haenyeo in Jeju,” said Professor Park.
If haenyeo gets to be registered first, Japan’s ama culture can only be registered with Korea’s assent if it wants both cultures to be registered under the same category. If that doesn’t suit Japan, it has to focus on other specifics of its diving culture so that the two can be considered different forms of intangible heritage assets.
BY SHIN JUNE-BONG [summerlee@joongang.co.kr]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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