SKOREA-FISHING-HAENYEO

In a photo taken on November 6, 2015 members of the media watch as a group of 'Haenyeo' demonstrates how they prepare their fishing equipment, during a media event organised by the Foreign Press Center, on South Korea's southern island of Jeju. The term 'Haenyeo', or 'sea women', refers to women who use free-diving techniques to retrieve shell fish from the sea floor. The relative wealth once brought by the export of their catches of clams, abalone, and other shell fish afforded the children of the Haenyeo greater access to better education and more prosperous careers. These and various other factors such as the high physical demands of the job, along with more modern fishing methods, has meant a steady and inevitable decline over the last 50 or so years. In 2014, South Korea applied to UNESCO to add the haenyo to its 'Intangible Cultural Heritage' list. AFP PHOTO / Ed Jones (Photo credit should read ED JONES/AFP via Getty Images)