Genetic ‘Superpowers’ in Korean Women Divers

The Haenyeo, or “women of the sea,” are a group of all-women extreme divers who work off the coast of Korea. They have spent their entire lives free-diving as much as 60 feet under the surface in the waters off Jeju Island, 50 miles south of mainland South Korea. The divers collect foodstuffs like abalone and seaweed from the seafloor, and do so while spending hours in the water every day, year round. There aren’t many divers left, because young people…