Local traditions and culture in Jeju-do

A stone fance or Olle is yet another point of interest for visitors to Jeju. Not only doesit remain as a long entrance alleyway leading into a main roadway of a village, but it shields the house from outsider's view and keeps the grain from blowing away.

The island's aging women divers or Haenyo are one of Jeju's most celebrated phenomena. Reaching depths of up to 20m for 2minutes at a time without the use of any breathing apparatus, they harvest abalone, octopus and other seafood.

This stone tower was constructed at sites where the flow of vital energy is stunted or inharmonious according to geomancy. Known by a variety of Korea names " geukdae, geuk, guwak, or gekdae " it embraces the islanders yearning for peace and prosperity.

The front gate of the houses called Jeongnang. Three gates carry messages that let you know when to come and visit. Three wooden bars are placed across tow stone pillars with three holes. When all the bars are up, no one is home. When all the bars down, it's means that the owner is home. One bar up say " I'll be back in 5 minutes. " These one of a kind gates represent the open mindedness and trust of the Jeju people.

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In England there is saying that if you are very happy, you are as happy as a pig in ***. If this has some foundation in truth, then the pigs of Jeju-do must be the happiest in the whole world! Because the village toilet is placed over the pig sty, and the black pigs of Jeju-do are fed on an exclusive diet of human excrement. Ummm, delicious! I think I'll have bacon for breakfast. Care to join me?

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The stone statues of Jeju-do, known as harubang, or stone grandfathers, are everywhere, like the stone heads on Easter Island. It is thought they were originally designed to guard entrances to villages.

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The haenyo, or lady divers, of Jeju-do use no breathing apparatus and can stay underwater for two minutes at a time, reaching depths of 20m.Some of them continue diving when they are in their 70s. In the 1950s there were as many as 30,000 haenyo on Jeju-do, but now there are fewer than 3,000. Now the highest concentration of haenyo is on Udo and that is where I saw two: one in the sea, and one in a black rubber wetsuit about to dive in. Unfortunately, I was sitting on a bus at the time, as I had left my car on Jeju-do. By the time I got my camera out, it was too late! So, I can only show you my photos of the statues and a picture from an exhibition of haenyo photographs.

There are statues celebrating the haenyo all over Jeju-do.

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Dolharubang can be seen everywhere. They are black lava statues of a kindly old man. In the old days they were considered guardian deities, but now they are objects for the tourist cameras.