Real-Life Mermaid’ South Korean Divers Have a Remarkable Underwater ‘Superpower’ Written Into Their DNA Jeju Island in Korea ...

The Haenyeo, an all-female group of divers on South Korea’s Jeju Island, spend much of their lives underwater without ...

Often likened to mermaids in media reports and popular culture, South Korea’s famed Haenyeo (“sea women”) spend much of the ...

Past work from Ilardo has shown that nomadic Bajau divers in Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines have especially large spleens. Even Bajau people who don’t dive seem to share this trait, ...

The Haenyeo – literally "sea women" – are a group of women who live on Jeju Island, South Korea’s largest island where a unique culture holds on to life. These women, some well into their ...

Sign up for CNN’s Wonder Theory science newsletter. Explore the universe with news on fascinating discoveries, scientific advancements and more. An island 50 miles ...

Two others followed her. These women, whose plunge Ilardo captured on video, belong to a long line of female free divers on Jeju Island called the Haenyeo. They swam off, each with a net bag in ...

The Haenyeo women live their entire lives diving off Jeju Island, 50 miles south of mainland South Korea, spending hours each day harvesting seaweed, abalone, and other food items from the seafloor.

The Haenyeo, a group of all-female divers from the Korean island of Jeju, are renowned for their ability to dive in frigid waters without the aid of breathing equipment -- even while pregnant.

Research on Haenyeo divers from Jeju Island reveals genetic traits linked to low blood pressure and cold tolerance, helping them survive the stresses of free diving. These genetic changes could ...