The Culture of Jeju Haenyeo (or women divers of Jeju Island) finally added to the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

On November 30 (local time), the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage held its 11th Session at the UN ECA Conference Center in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The decision of inscribing the Culture of Jeju Haenyeo was made during this session.

It was an achievement in two years and eight months after the application was submitted in March 2014.

Member States of the Committee highly acclaimed the Culture of Jeju Haenyeo in that their skill of muljil (diving underwater without any helping gear) has been passed down from generation to generation. The Culture was also given high marks as it emphasizes the roles of women and embodies the identity of the local community.

Jeju Province enacted the Ordinance for the Preservation and Transmission of the Culture of Jeju Haenyeo in 2009. Under this ordinance, it established the Haenyeo Culture Transmission Committee in 2011 and developed the Five-Year Master Plan for the Globalization of the Culture of Jeju Haenyeo. The Province then applied for the designation in March 2014, and the Evaluation Body of UNESCO suggested on October 31 that the Culture of Jeju Haenyeo be inscribed on the list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity .

In addition, the province endeavored to help spread the value of the outstanding haenyeo culture, visiting Ethiopia with Korean delegation consisting of Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Permanent Delegation of the Public of the Korea to UNESCO, and Cultural Heritage Administration for confirming Jeju female haenyeo culture listed as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity

Jeju Governor Won Hee-ryong said haenyeo are diligently doing muljil amid this joyful moment to collect turban shell. He also stressed that their culture is the symbol of the local community of Jeju where women are devoted to feeding their families with seafood they caught underwater.

Additionally, he pointed out that the symbolic value of their culture as well as their natural-friendly working methods, the local ecosystem, and the community-based culture are the important cultural heritages we must protect and preserve. He finally said that the entire community of Jeju will take the recent inscription as an opportunity to strive for the systematic preservation and sustainable development of the Culture of Haenyeo.