‘Haenyeo Safe Buddy’ Brings Modern Support to South Korea’s Ancient Free-Diving Tradition

Cheil and the Jeju Institute of Korean Medicine have launched a safety system inspired by the community-driven culture of the “haenyeo” (해녀), the legendary women free-divers of South Korea’s Jeju Province. […]

Haenyeo have traditionally relied on “sunooreum,” a cooperative culture of watching over each other’s safety during diving to prevent accidents. As the number of haenyeo has decreased, the physical distance between them during diving has grown, making this traditional safety net insufficient. The Haenyeo Safe Buddy app bridges the widening physical gap between divers using modern technology.

The app monitors the heart rates of diving haenyeo in real time, comprehensively analyzing heart rate changes and quickly detecting danger signals. In an emergency, it automatically sends a warning alarm to not only the affected diver but to all haenyeo within a 1km radius. This allows nearby divers to immediately initiate primary rescue efforts. This enables rescue efforts to be initiated within the critical 4–6-minute golden rescue window before the average 7-minute arrival time of emergency responders.

Read Branding in Asia