American Jeju Haenyeo Kylie Genter: "Came to Korea as an English Teacher, Earned a Haenyeo License... Diving with Elders, Sense of Community Is Key"

[Joo Young-jin's News Briefing]

When quoting or citing this interview, please credit the program SBS "Joo Young-jin's News Briefing." The copyright belongs to SBS.

■ Broadcast: SBS "Joo Young-jin's News Briefing" Monday–Friday (14:00–15:20)
■ Host: Anchor Joo Young-jin
■ Guest: Kylie Genter, American Jeju Haenyeo
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● Interview

Kylie Genter / American Jeju Haenyeo
"Came to Korea in September 2012 as an English teacher"
"Started in January 2024 after hearing young haenyeo were needed"
"Obtained haenyeo license in April this year after an internship period"
"Dives for 4 to 5 hours when the weather is good"
"'Mulbeot' (diving buddy) provides help in dangerous situations"
"Sense of community is the most important for Jeju haenyeo"
"Haenyeo diving is always done together"
"Haenyeo, strong women... A culture continuing for over 100 years"
"Many foreigners misunderstand haenyeo... Promoting through social media"
"Healing experience by focusing solely on diving"
"Happy being a haenyeo... I think I will do this until I die"
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▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor : The scene in the video is clearly in our country, and they are haenyeo. But while she is our haenyeo, she is a foreigner with blue eyes. Some of you might be surprised, but today's guest on News Briefing—who was also featured by CNN—was once a New Yorker. A New Yorker that many Koreans often dream of becoming. But now, she is a Jeju haenyeo. She is also the only foreigner holding a haenyeo license, a true foreigner-turned-Korean. Here with us from Jeju is haenyeo Kylie Genter. Welcome.

▶ Kylie Genter / American Jeju Haenyeo : Hello.

▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor : Nice to meet you. So does this mean you couldn't do your haenyeo work today because you came here for this interview?

▶ Kylie Genter / American Jeju Haenyeo : Today is originally a day we don't dive, so it's fine.

▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor : Today is a non-diving day.

▶ Kylie Genter / American Jeju Haenyeo : Yes, we don't dive every single day.

▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor : By "muljil," you mean going into the ocean, right?

▶ Kylie Genter / American Jeju Haenyeo : Yes. That's right.

▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor : When did you first come to Korea?

▶ Kylie Genter / American Jeju Haenyeo : When I first arrived in Korea, it was September 2012. Back then, it wasn't to become a haenyeo—I was an English teacher.

▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor : You came to Korea as an English teacher. But while teaching students and office workers who wanted to learn English, how did you end up becoming a haenyeo?

▶ Kylie Genter / American Jeju Haenyeo : It's a bit of a long story, but when I first came to Korea, I lived in Jinju, South Gyeongsang Province, for four years.

▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor : Jinju, South Gyeongsang Province.

▶ Kylie Genter / American Jeju Haenyeo : Yes, that's right. After that, I moved to Jeju. When I first came to Jeju, I was an English teacher, but not just a regular English teacher—it felt a bit like being a tour guide. I developed and taught programs covering haenyeo, Jeju culture, and Jeju history. When we started, there were four native English-speaking teachers, and I was the only woman. So I thought, 'I should develop the haenyeo program before a man does,' since it should be done by a woman. So in 2018, I attended a haenyeo school and graduated. Time went by, and in 2020 I married my husband. My husband is a scuba diving instructor, so he knows a lot of divers and is very social. Among the people he knew, someone had started diving in our village of Yeongnak-ri, and they needed another young haenyeo. Others mentioned it, and before my husband even brought it up with me, he told them, 'My wife will do it.' That's how we contacted our Yeongnak-ri village. We asked, 'There's a woman who wants to become a haenyeo, but she's a foreigner. Would that be okay?' Initially, they said no. But suddenly, about a month later, they said I could. So I had an interview with the village fisheries cooperative head in December 2023, and I started diving in January 2024.

▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor : How many years did you attend the haenyeo school? One year?

▶ Kylie Genter / American Jeju Haenyeo : In 2018. It was only during the summer, for about three months.

▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor : But graduating from a haenyeo school doesn't automatically make someone a haenyeo, does it?

▶ Kylie Genter / American Jeju Haenyeo : Usually people might think that, but when I graduated from the haenyeo school, I couldn't even imagine that I could become a real haenyeo. It is hard even for people from the mainland to join, so I couldn't really imagine a foreigner doing it either. But as time went by, an opportunity opened up.

▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor : You received your haenyeo license, right?

▶ Kylie Genter / American Jeju Haenyeo : Yes. I brought it here with me.

▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor : It says "Jeju."

▶ Kylie Genter / American Jeju Haenyeo : My name is somewhat long, and it says "Active." You also receive a card when you retire.

▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor : When did you receive this?

▶ Kylie Genter / American Jeju Haenyeo : I received it in April this year.

▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor : In April this year. Receiving this means you were already working as a haenyeo before that, weren't you?

▶ Kylie Genter / American Jeju Haenyeo : Before that, it was an internship period. You can't get a haenyeo license right away. Depending on the village, someone might intern for six months, or in other villages, for five years. In my case, I was an intern for two years.

▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor : Two years. You did it longer than some others.

▶ Kylie Genter / American Jeju Haenyeo : Some people do it for that long, while others do it shorter. Mine was about average.

▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor : Average—so becoming a haenyeo really isn't easy. But when you first showed up wanting to become a haenyeo, as a foreigner, what did the senior elders—the "samchun," as they are called—say? Did they ask, "Really? Can she do it?" What was it like? It seems their initial reaction might not have been entirely positive.

▶ Kylie Genter / American Jeju Haenyeo : In our village, compared to other places, people were actually more open-minded. The samchun didn't quite think a foreigner could do it, and they couldn't entirely understand why someone would want to dive in our village, but once I started, I received so much love from them and they opened their hearts to me.

▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor : She's a foreigner who came to teach English—why would she come all the way to our village to become a haenyeo? At first they might have looked at you with some doubt, wondering if you were serious, but soon they treated you warmly. Do the samchun really treat you well? What do they say to you the most?

▶ Kylie Genter / American Jeju Haenyeo : Our samchun have a pretty strong Jeju dialect, so to be honest, I can't always understand everything they say, but they tell me things like, "Do well," and "Catch a lot."

▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor : "Catch a lot." You are now a haenyeo with the Yeongnak-ri fishing cooperative in Daejeong-eup, Seogwipo City.

▶ Kylie Genter / American Jeju Haenyeo : Yes. That's right.

▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor : Looking at the photos, everyone looks wonderful, and the atmosphere seems great. What is your daily routine like?

▶ Kylie Genter / American Jeju Haenyeo : It can vary depending on the season, but these days we are harvesting turban shells. When harvesting turban shells nowadays, we usually arrive at the changing room about an hour before diving starts. The younger haenyeo clean the changing room and do some prep work. We relax with the other samchun, watching TV and drinking coffee, until our haenyeo president finally says, "Let's go," and we head out. In our village, there is no port, so boats cannot dock, and we usually walk to the entry point. We walk about 1 kilometer. If the weather is good, we dive for two hours, or two to three hours if it's not so good, and when the weather is cold, we dive for four to five hours, hoping to catch turban shells or find an octopus. When we finish, we all come out together, take a bath, and eat together. Our haenyeo president prepares meals for everyone.

▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor : The work haenyeo do is dangerous. Underwater, you always have to go in together, right? You never enter alone; you go together, right? While working, I'm sure you must have experienced dangerous moments.

▶ Kylie Genter / American Jeju Haenyeo : There can be dangerous experiences, and for me, the most dangerous moment was when I caught a large octopus.

▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor : A giant octopus. Something like a giant octopus.

▶ Kylie Genter / American Jeju Haenyeo : When I caught that octopus. Usually, these octopuses hide in rock crevices, so you can't really tell how big they are. You can only see the eyes. Usually we use a tool, and when its head looked small and I brought it up, the octopus wrapped itself around me from above my leg up to my waist. Since octopuses have beaks, they can bite, so I was terrified and screaming a lot. My friend—haenyeo call a partner they dive with "mulbeot"—

▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor : Mulbeot. A friend in the water.

▶ Kylie Genter / American Jeju Haenyeo : The friend who helps, named Choi Jeong-yoon, came over and helped me get it off. Later, we ate it deliciously.

▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor : In the end, you caught it, thinking, "You gave me such a hard time." But if that fellow haenyeo, your mulbeot, hadn't been beside you, it could have been truly dangerous.

▶ Kylie Genter / American Jeju Haenyeo : That's why you can never dive alone.

▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor : While feeling the danger at that moment, it must have also given you a deeper appreciation for your fellow haenyeo and the profession itself. You have a colleague who saved you from danger, and likewise, if someone else is in danger, you will be there to help them.

▶ Kylie Genter / American Jeju Haenyeo : Of course. And for Jeju haenyeo, community is considered the most important thing.

▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor : Community.

▶ Kylie Genter / American Jeju Haenyeo : We cannot dive alone; we must do it all together and eat together. We always have to do things together, so that is regarded as the most important thing.

▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor : A haenyeo's diving is always done together. A sense of community is crucial. Does that mean you always start work together and finish together? Do you enter the water together and end the diving together?

▶ Kylie Genter / American Jeju Haenyeo : Yes, we must go out together.

▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor : But the amount of turban shells harvested each day can vary from person to person, can't it?

▶ Kylie Genter / American Jeju Haenyeo : It differs by individual. In our village, we can catch around 30 kilograms, but in other villages, they can catch around 100 kilograms.

▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor : Right now, what Kylie Genter is saying about community among Jeju haenyeo is being displayed on screen in subtitles. The samchun across Jeju are probably watching right now. Have you seen any dramas featuring Jeju haenyeo?

▶ Kylie Genter / American Jeju Haenyeo : I haven't watched them yet, but other friends always recommend them, which is nice.

▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor : In the recent drama "Our Blues," stories of haenyeo were featured quite a bit. Working as a haenyeo in Korea, what has been the most impressive aspect? When telling your parents or friends back home in the United States, what features of haenyeo culture make you say, "This is truly incredible and amazing"?

▶ Kylie Genter / American Jeju Haenyeo : A key characteristic of haenyeo culture is that women do everything.

▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor : Women do everything.

▶ Kylie Genter / American Jeju Haenyeo : They have been doing it for an extremely long time—over 100 years of doing the same work. And we don't use air tanks or anything like that. Women practicing haenyeo diving as a community—I think that's truly amazing.

▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor : You must have so much to talk about whenever you visit the United States, right? By working as a haenyeo, you are also serving as a haenyeo ambassador, as people say. You use social media quite a bit, don't you? Shall we take a quick look? It would be even more fun to continue our conversation after watching.

▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor : Watching that video, the samchun might say, "Our Genter speaks English so well, too." You act very well, too. You are a great actor.

▶ Kylie Genter / American Jeju Haenyeo : Is that being broadcast on SBS right now?

▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor : I bet there are many comments on those videos.

▶ Kylie Genter / American Jeju Haenyeo : There are quite a few. Originally, I just wanted to educate people on how haenyeo really live, but I also wanted to make it a bit humorous.

▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor : There must be a clear reason why you post videos like that.

▶ Kylie Genter / American Jeju Haenyeo : When I first started as a haenyeo, the reason I shared it on social media was that many foreigners are interested in haenyeo, but there are also many misunderstandings. Since many haenyeo cannot speak English, I wanted to teach people about it, especially since I was originally a teacher. I wanted to teach how haenyeo live these days. When I first thought about starting, I hesitated, but another friend said, "Just do it." I was contemplating it, and my husband was also very supportive, so I started two years ago. People want to show me love, and I'm grateful.

▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor : To you, Ms. Genter, what does becoming a haenyeo, haenyeo work, and diving mean?

▶ Kylie Genter / American Jeju Haenyeo : First of all, we do the same work, but what many young haenyeo these days feel in common with me is that diving feels somewhat like meditation.

▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor : Meditation?

▶ Kylie Genter / American Jeju Haenyeo : You have to control your mind, no one can call me, and without worrying about anything else, I can focus solely on this work. It feels healing, like meditation. That is what I think about when I dive.

▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor : How long do you plan to work as a haenyeo?

▶ Kylie Genter / American Jeju Haenyeo : Until I die?

▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor : Really?

▶ Kylie Genter / American Jeju Haenyeo : If you want to become a haenyeo, you have to live in that village until you die, and keep going as much as your heart allows. That's what I believe. If you don't think that way, you can't even become a haenyeo.

▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor : You are happy having become a haenyeo, right?

▶ Kylie Genter / American Jeju Haenyeo : I'm so happy. Thanks to our Yeongnak-ri samchun and our other young haenyeo, I am living very well.

▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor : I see. From being a New Yorker to becoming a haenyeo in Jeju, and the mindset and perspective she carries after becoming one. Seeing this, life truly is a blessing. We don't know how things will unfold, and it's not always filled with good things, but looking back, it makes me feel that life is a great blessing and grace.

▶ Kylie Genter / American Jeju Haenyeo : Thank you.

▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor : How did you enjoy this interview with diving haenyeo Kylie Genter? I'm sure it was very heartwarming. Thank you very much for speaking with us today.

▶ Kylie Genter / American Jeju Haenyeo : Thank you.
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.