Twenty-nine things, and the month each one comes.
What the sea gives
Everything a haenyeo takes in this game, with the month it appears, the size below which it stays in the sea, and how deep it sits. The green marks are the months it is at its best; the dark red marks are a closed season, when it does not appear at all.
Where a number came from a public figure it is marked source. Where we could not find one and chose a number ourselves it is marked estimate, and it is a guess.
Horned Turban뿔소라 · Turbo cornutus
A big share of a haenyeo's income. Most of Korea's horned turban comes from Jeju.
51.3% of the catch on an average year · 2,295 t in 2015 source
Under 8cm is a small one — it stays in the sea source
In this game it appears below 2.5m game value
Closed season June–September — it does not appear at all in those months
Top Shell estimate보말 · Lunella · Monodonta
A small snail on the shore rocks. Boiled into soup.
23.8% on an average year estimate
Under 2cm is a small one — it stays in the sea estimate
In this game it appears below 0m game value
Gelidium우뭇가사리 · Gelidium
The top seaweed by volume. The raw material for agar.
3.0% on an average year · 614 t dried in 2015 source
No size rule — seaweeds are managed by season
In this game it appears below 0m game value
Hijiki톳 · Sargassum fusiforme
Second among the seaweeds.
1.9% on an average year · 395 t dried in 2015 source
No size rule — seaweeds are managed by season
In this game it appears below 0m game value
Sea Lettuce estimate파래 · Ulva
Grows in the shallows. Eaten dressed.
2.2% on an average year estimate
No size rule — seaweeds are managed by season
In this game it appears below 0m game value
Sargassum estimate모자반 · Sargassum fulvellum
Called mom on Jeju. The mom in mom-guk soup.
1.3% on an average year estimate
No size rule — seaweeds are managed by season
In this game it appears below 0m game value
Sea Urchin성게 · Sea urchin
Small in volume but high in price — second to turban by value.
5.1% on an average year · 66 t in 2015 source
Under 4.5cm is a small one — it stays in the sea estimate
In this game it appears below 2m game value
Mussel estimate홍합 · Mytilus
Wild mussels on rock.
1.3% on an average year estimate
Under 7cm is a small one — it stays in the sea estimate
In this game it appears below 3m game value
Sea Cucumber해삼 · Apostichopus japonicus
Hard to find in summer — it aestivates.
1.1% on an average year · 108 t in 2015 source
Under 12cm is a small one — it stays in the sea estimate
In this game it appears below 3m game value
Limpet estimate배말 · Patellidae
Clamped flat to the rock like a little hat.
4.0% on an average year estimate
Under 3cm is a small one — it stays in the sea estimate
In this game it appears below 0m game value
Sea Mustard estimate미역 · Undaria pinnatifida
On the working calendar, but we could not find a per-species figure.
0.74% on an average year estimate
No size rule — seaweeds are managed by season
In this game it appears below 1m game value
Codium estimate청각 · Codium fragile
Goes into kimchi.
1.6% on an average year estimate
No size rule — seaweeds are managed by season
In this game it appears below 1m game value
Green Urchin estimate말똥성게 · Hemicentrotus pulcherrimus
Short, blunt spines.
0.59% on an average year estimate
Under 3cm is a small one — it stays in the sea estimate
In this game it appears below 1.5m game value
Ecklonia감태 · Ecklonia cava
The seaweed that builds the forests of the Jeju sea floor.
0.38% on an average year · 104 t dried in 2015 source
No size rule — seaweeds are managed by season
In this game it appears below 3m game value
Sea Hare estimate군소 · Aplysia kurodai
Squirts purple ink if you touch it.
0.37% on an average year estimate
Under 15cm is a small one — it stays in the sea estimate
In this game it appears below 2.5m game value
Small Abalone오분자기 · Haliotis diversicolor
159 t in 1995 to 4.9 t in 2012. Nearly gone, and coming back slowly through seeding.
0.20% on an average year · 4 t in 2015 source
Under 4cm is a small one — it stays in the sea estimate
In this game it appears below 3.5m game value
Octopus estimate문어 · Octopus
Recorded as sometimes taken with a spear; we could not find a figure.
0.77% on an average year estimate
Under 25cm is a small one — it stays in the sea estimate
In this game it appears below 4m game value
Red Cucumber estimate홍해삼 · Apostichopus japonicus (red form)
The red-coloured form of the sea cucumber.
0.18% on an average year estimate
Under 12cm is a small one — it stays in the sea estimate
In this game it appears below 4.5m game value
Abalone전복 · Haliotis discus hannai
Small in volume, highest in price. Closed October to December for spawning.
0.11% on an average year · 8 t in 2015 source
Under 10cm is a small one — it stays in the sea estimate
In this game it appears below 4m game value
Closed season October–December — it does not appear at all in those months
Round Abalone estimate둥근전복 · Haliotis discus
Same family as the common abalone. Rounder shell, lives in the South Sea and around Jeju.
No per-species figure found estimate
Under 10cm is a small one — it stays in the sea estimate
In this game it appears below 4m game value
Closed season October–December — it does not appear at all in those months
Giant Abalone estimate말전복 · Haliotis gigantea
One of the larger abalone. Coralline algae settle readily on its shell.
No per-species figure found estimate
Under 10cm is a small one — it stays in the sea estimate
In this game it appears below 4.5m game value
Closed season October–December — it does not appear at all in those months
King Abalone estimate왕전복 · Haliotis madaka
Said to be the largest abalone. There are records of them over 20cm.
No per-species figure found estimate
Under 12cm is a small one — it stays in the sea estimate
In this game it appears below 5m game value
Closed season October–December — it does not appear at all in those months
Haenyeo also shot fish with a spear — jaksal, called sosal on Jeju. source Jeju Ilbo, 16 Feb 2016, "The ecological and environmentally sound fishing of the Jeju haenyeo", which names "the jaksal, the tool for shooting fish". What we could not find is which fish. The five below are common on Jeju's shore rocks and shallows, and the game picked them as an estimate estimate. If that is wrong, tell me on Threads.
Rockfish estimate우럭 · Sebastes schlegelii
Korean rockfish. Hides in rock crevices.
No per-species figure found estimate
Under 20cm is a small one — it stays in the sea estimate
In this game it appears below 3m game value
Taken with the spear (jaksal) — junggun and above
Blackfish estimate벵에돔 · Girella punctata
A shore-rock fish, dark blue-black.
No per-species figure found estimate
Under 20cm is a small one — it stays in the sea estimate
In this game it appears below 3.5m game value
Taken with the spear (jaksal) — sanggun and above
Striped Beakfish estimate돌돔 · Oplegnathus fasciatus
Seven black stripes. Cracks things off the rock with a beak-like mouth.
No per-species figure found estimate
Under 25cm is a small one — it stays in the sea estimate
In this game it appears below 4.5m game value
Taken with the spear (jaksal) — sanggun and above
Filefish estimate쥐치 · Stephanolepis cirrhifer
A flat fish with rough skin.
No per-species figure found estimate
Under 12cm is a small one — it stays in the sea estimate
In this game it appears below 2m game value
Taken with the spear (jaksal) — junggun and above
Wrasse estimate어렝이 · Halichoeres poecilopterus
The multicolorfin rainbowfish, called eoreng-i on Jeju. A fish of the shallow rock flats.
No per-species figure found estimate
Under 12cm is a small one — it stays in the sea estimate
In this game it appears below 1.5m game value
Taken with the spear (jaksal) — junggun and above
Taken from the rocks on a good tide. We found no figures for these estimate.
Goose Barnacle estimate거북손 · Pollicipes mitella
Named for looking like a turtle's foot. Lives wedged into rock where the waves break.
No per-species figure found estimate
Under 3cm is a small one — it stays in the sea estimate
In this game it appears below 0.5m game value
Rock Oyster estimate굴 · Crassostrea
Wild oysters on rock. In this game they come in winter.
No per-species figure found estimate
Under 6cm is a small one — it stays in the sea estimate
In this game it appears below 0.5m game value
The share-of-catch percentages come from Jeju Province's marine and fisheries statistics for village fisheries (which is haenyeo work) and from the FAO GIAHS application for the Jeju Haenyeo Fisheries System, 2015 tonnages. Turning tonnes into counts of individual creatures — and dried seaweed back into wet — is our own rough conversion.
The month calendars follow the GIAHS working calendar for Udo and Gimnyeong. The closed seasons are real: horned turban June to September, abalone October to December.
Anything we could not find a source for is either left out or marked as an estimate on its own line. If you know better, tell me — corrections go on the sources page with your name if you want it there.