Breathing means living. In other words, not breathing implies death. Life or death depends on whether we breathe or not. However, there are people who have to hold their breath to live. They are haenyeo, women divers, in Jeju Island, Korea.
Haenyeo jump into the sea without any breathing equipment, carrying only the tewak1 and the net with a heavy lead block around their waist to easily submerge in the water. They hold their breath while diving in the water, so they go in and out of the water to breathe dozens of times. Among haenyeo, there is a rank system. Haenyeo with the introductory rank dive in and out of 5–7 meter depth, those with the intermediate rank dive in and out of 8–10 meter depth, and those with the advanced rank even go down to the sea at a depth of 15 meters or more. Their ranks are determined according to how long they can hold their breath in water. The deeper the water, the better seafood they can catch, which means they have to hold their breath for a long time. Haenyeo with an advanced level can hold their breath for more than two minutes in the sea.
1. A tool made of a gourd by taking out seeds and sealing the holes to help a haenyeo swim in the sea.
Sumbisori is the sound that haenyeo make like a whistle, “Hoi,” when they come out to the water’s surface to breathe and exhales their breath that they were holding in water for a long time. Haenyeo risk their life until they run out of breath to make a living for their families. Sumbisori is the sound that represents the hard life of haenyeo.