On Busanโs eastern shoreline, past the neon lights of Haeundae Beach and the towers of Songjeong Beach, the coast narrows into quiet fishing villages.
Here in Daebyeon-ri, in Gijang county, stands a haenyeo village that has carried its traditions on for half a century, where the oceanโs catch and the divers who harvest it remain at the centre of community life.
The village began with nothing more than red plastic basins. Decades ago, haenyeo โ female divers who harvest seafood by hand โ returning from the sea would place freshly caught abalone, sea cucumbers and sea squirts into tubs while rinsing off by the pier.
Passers-by asked to buy the seafood on the spot, and word soon spread. Over time, the basins became makeshift stalls, and the stalls grew into a cluster of seafood restaurants that today line Daebyeon Port.
โBack then, people would say โgive me some of thatโ when they saw us wash up with our catch,โ recalled veteran haenyeo Im Mal-sook, 78. โIf they asked us to slice it, we did. Thatโs how it all started here.โ