{"id":1184,"date":"2026-09-06T03:30:21","date_gmt":"2026-09-06T03:30:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/webmediamall.com\/index.php\/2026\/09\/06\/unicorn778-south-koreas-sea-women-seek-justice-after-marine-habitat-devastated-by-harbor-work-peluang-terburuk-saat-bermain-slot-online\/"},"modified":"2026-09-06T03:30:21","modified_gmt":"2026-09-06T03:30:21","slug":"unicorn778-south-koreas-sea-women-seek-justice-after-marine-habitat-devastated-by-harbor-work-peluang-terburuk-saat-bermain-slot-online","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/webmediamall.com\/index.php\/2026\/09\/06\/unicorn778-south-koreas-sea-women-seek-justice-after-marine-habitat-devastated-by-harbor-work-peluang-terburuk-saat-bermain-slot-online\/","title":{"rendered":"UNICORN778 South Korea\u2019s \u2018sea women\u2019 seek justice after marine habitat devastated by harbor work Peluang Terburuk Saat Bermain Slot Online"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div id=\"post-328703\">&#13;<\/p>\n<div class=\"bulletpoints-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"bulletpoints\">\n<ul>\n<li><em>A community of hanyeo, South Korea\u2019s free-diving women fishers, accuse a harbor project in their village of devastating the local marine habitat they\u2019ve depended on for decades for their livelihoods.<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>The women are demanding compensation from construction giant Ssangyong, taking their fight to Seoul after the loss of their traditional fishing grounds.<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>They are considering a lawsuit against either the company or the government, but face a costly, years-long legal battle requiring scientific evidence linking the construction activity to the habitat\u2019s destruction.<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>With many of the haenyeo now in their 70s and 80s, time is not on their side \u2014 and some say the settlement on offer would barely cover the cost of their fight.<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p><button class=\"content-expander\"><span>See All Key Ideas<\/span><\/button><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>&#13;<\/p>\n<p>GUMAN-RI, South Korea \u2014 This fishing village, on the eastern coast of the Korean Peninsula, is filled with scars. Every summer, typhoons rumble in from the Pacific Ocean to snap trees and flip fishing boats. Huge ships, including a 4,000-ton cargo vessel in 2005, have sunk or run aground on the rocky coast, sullying marine food sources. In the 1950-1953 Korean War, dozens of villagers were massacred.<\/p>\n<p>Time and time again, however, the resilient residents of Guman-ri have figured out a way to soldier on. But their latest setback has stupefied them.<\/p>\n<p>In 2021, South Korean construction giant Ssangyong Engineering &amp; Construction Co. began work to expand and repair the breakwaters at the local harbor. Since then, the surrounding marine habitat has slowly withered away. By early 2025, the lush seabed had become a graveyard for dead marine plants and animals.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_328677\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-328677\" src=\"https:\/\/imgs.mongabay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2026\/09\/04060617\/Guman-ri-village-sea-768x512.jpeg\" alt=\"Guman-ri, a fishing village on the eastern coast of South Korea, on Aug. 16, 2026. Image by Andrew Jeong for Mongabay.\" width=\"768\" height=\"512\" srcset=\"https:\/\/imgs.mongabay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2026\/09\/04060617\/Guman-ri-village-sea-768x512.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/imgs.mongabay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2026\/09\/04060617\/Guman-ri-village-sea-1200x800.jpeg 1200w, https:\/\/imgs.mongabay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2026\/09\/04060617\/Guman-ri-village-sea-350x233.jpeg 350w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Guman-ri, a fishing village on the eastern coast of South Korea, on Aug. 16, 2026. Image by Andrew Jeong for Mongabay.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Gone are the glimmering abalones, chunky sea snails, and translucent green seaweed that once populated the waters around the cape, despite its designation as a protected marine area. In their place is white, dusty cement debris, which the villagers have blamed on the construction of the breakwaters.<\/p>\n<p>The habitat\u2019s demise is itself an environmental tragedy. But it has brought an emotional and financial death knell to the village\u2019s nearly two dozen <i>haenyeo<\/i>, the \u201csea women,\u201d who dive to harvest a variety of shellfish and marine plants without oxygen tanks.<\/p>\n<p>Kim Choon-hee, a 78-year-old haenyeo, points to the cement debris covering the gravel of the village beaches. \u201cNone of that was there,\u201d she says. \u201cIt is now everywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_328678\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-328678\" src=\"https:\/\/imgs.mongabay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2026\/09\/04060654\/Debris-768x512.jpeg\" alt=\"Debris that villagers suspect of coming from the harbor construction lies on the seabed and on the beach of Guman-ri, a fishing village in South Korea, on Aug. 15, 2026.\" width=\"768\" height=\"512\" srcset=\"https:\/\/imgs.mongabay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2026\/09\/04060654\/Debris-768x512.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/imgs.mongabay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2026\/09\/04060654\/Debris-1200x800.jpeg 1200w, https:\/\/imgs.mongabay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2026\/09\/04060654\/Debris-350x233.jpeg 350w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Debris that villagers suspect of coming from the harbor construction lies on the seabed and on the beach of Guman-ri, a fishing village in South Korea, on Aug. 15, 2026. Image by Andrew Jeong for Mongabay.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2>David versus Goliath<\/h2>\n<p>Kim is besties with fellow haenyeo Im Gil-seok and Lee Yeon-oak. The three women, all born in 1947, have swum and dived for more than five decades in the waters off the tight-knit village.<\/p>\n<p>On land, it\u2019s clear that age has caught up with them. Lee can\u2019t sit for more than 10 minutes because of a bad back. Im has been taking pills for years after a stroke. Kim has a stooped posture because of a slightly bent back.<\/p>\n<p>But in the water, it\u2019s as if they\u2019re in their 20s. The septuagenarians gracefully glide through the water to depths of up to 10 meters (33 feet) and can hold their breath for 90 seconds, all without an oxygen tank.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt almost feels like I\u2019m flying,\u201d Kim says with a chuckle, describing her underwater swim.<\/p>\n<p>Their 12-hour days include swimming for hours in the chilly seas, tugging their 20-kilogram (44-pound) catches to shore, and squatting for several more hours to cut and clean their catch before they sell it at the local market.<\/p>\n<p>For much of the past 50 or so years, the long days would have earned the haenyeo enough to put food on the table and even send their kids to school.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_328682\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-328682\" src=\"https:\/\/imgs.mongabay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2026\/09\/04071936\/Lee_Im_Kim-768x512.jpeg\" alt=\"Haenyeo and best friends, from left, Lee Yeon-oak, Im Gil-seok, and Kim Choon-hee, in a seashore gazebo in Guman-ri, South Korea, on Aug. 16, 2026.\" width=\"768\" height=\"512\" srcset=\"https:\/\/imgs.mongabay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2026\/09\/04071936\/Lee_Im_Kim-768x512.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/imgs.mongabay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2026\/09\/04071936\/Lee_Im_Kim-1200x800.jpeg 1200w, https:\/\/imgs.mongabay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2026\/09\/04071936\/Lee_Im_Kim-350x233.jpeg 350w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Haenyeo and best friends, from left, Lee Yeon-oak, Im Gil-seok, and Kim Choon-hee, in a seashore gazebo in Guman-ri, South Korea, on Aug. 16, 2026. Image by Andrew Jeong for Mongabay.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>That changed, however, when Ssangyong began construction work at the harbor, which sits between Guman-ri and the neighboring fishing village of Daebo-ri.<\/p>\n<p>At first, the haenyeo weren\u2019t worried when construction cranes began lifting 5-ton rocks like Lego pieces, throwing gravel and sand everywhere. After all, the underwater marine forest was unaffected.<\/p>\n<p>By 2023, however, the effects of the construction started to show, they say. Abalones, once bigger than their hands, shrank in size, they tell Mongabay. Carcasses of sea cucumbers littered the seafloor. Shrubs of surfgrass disappeared. Within two years, the marine life had completely vanished.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere is nothing now,\u201d Im says.<\/p>\n<p>The loss of the fishing grounds has affected 53 haenyeo in the two villages: 23 in Guman-ri and 30 in Daebo-ri.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_328688\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-328688\" src=\"https:\/\/imgs.mongabay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2026\/09\/04082646\/E00626D244DA459187B755CFBF169E79.jpeg\" alt=\"Haenyeo of Homigot township, which includes Guman-ri and and Daebo-ri, in South Korea's North Gyeongsang province. Image courtesy of North Gyeongsang provincial government.\" width=\"638\" height=\"422\" srcset=\"https:\/\/imgs.mongabay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2026\/09\/04082646\/E00626D244DA459187B755CFBF169E79.jpeg 638w, https:\/\/imgs.mongabay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2026\/09\/04082646\/E00626D244DA459187B755CFBF169E79-350x233.jpeg 350w, https:\/\/imgs.mongabay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2026\/09\/04082646\/E00626D244DA459187B755CFBF169E79-610x403.jpeg 610w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 638px) 100vw, 638px\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Haenyeo of Homigot township, which includes Guman-ri and Daebo-ri, in South Korea\u2019s North Gyeongsang province. Image courtesy of the North Gyeongsang provincial government.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Unbeknownst to them, it was the local office of the South Korean Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries that proposed the construction work in 2017. The office, located in Pohang, the biggest city in North Gyeongsang province, touted the need to expand breakwaters to better protect the villagers\u2019 fishing boats from typhoons.<\/p>\n<p>The proposal was endorsed by seven elderly fishers who represented the two villages. When the haenyeo found out what had happened in 2025, they confronted the men for not consulting them before accepting the government\u2019s plan. However, the fishers told them that they didn\u2019t know what could happen to the coastal habitat or the livelihoods of the haenyeo.<\/p>\n<p>The men apologized. But by then, it was too late. The local ecosystem, which Kim describes as \u201ca gold mine of seafood,\u201d had collapsed.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_328679\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-328679\" src=\"https:\/\/imgs.mongabay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2026\/09\/04060708\/Breakwater1-768x512.jpeg\" alt=\"The expanded breakwaters, jutting into the waters off Guman-ri and Daebo-ri, appear almost complete on Aug. 16, 2026. Image by Andrew Jeong for Mongabay.\" width=\"768\" height=\"512\" srcset=\"https:\/\/imgs.mongabay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2026\/09\/04060708\/Breakwater1-768x512.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/imgs.mongabay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2026\/09\/04060708\/Breakwater1-1200x800.jpeg 1200w, https:\/\/imgs.mongabay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2026\/09\/04060708\/Breakwater1-350x233.jpeg 350w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The expanded breakwaters, jutting into the waters off Guman-ri and Daebo-ri, appear almost complete on Aug. 16, 2026. Image by Andrew Jeong for Mongabay.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>In June this year, all the haenyeo from Guman-ri and Daebo-ri, in their 60s to 80s, went to Seoul to stage a protest. They hired two buses to drive them five hours to the headquarters of Ssangyong E&amp;C.<\/p>\n<p>For two days, on June 29 and 30, they staged a sit-in under the scorching sun outside the high-rise building that houses the construction firm.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/en.yna.co.kr\/view\/PYH20260629145700315\" data-wpel-link=\"external\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"external\">Clad<\/a> in black rubber diving suits and carrying <i>tewak<\/i>, floating devices that double up as baskets to carry their catch, the women wore red headbands that read, \u201cCompensation for the damage.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>As they yelled chants, they waved banners that also read, \u201cWe\u2019ve lost our livelihoods. Compensate our neighborhoods!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The haenyeo demanded Ssangyong, which <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ssyenc.com\/kr\/finance\/summary-finance\" data-wpel-link=\"external\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"external\">earned<\/a> a net profit of 154.2 billion won ($112 million) last year, compensate them after allegedly destroying their livelihoods and the sea they depend on.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_328753\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-328753\" src=\"https:\/\/imgs.mongabay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2026\/09\/04121518\/734644850_1017895431208149_1032094189867833576_n-2-768x512.jpeg\" alt=\"South Korean lawmaker Lee Sang-hwi, who represents Pohang, meets with protesting haenyeo in Seoul on June 30, 2026. Image courtesy of Lee Sang-hwi.\" width=\"768\" height=\"512\" srcset=\"https:\/\/imgs.mongabay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2026\/09\/04121518\/734644850_1017895431208149_1032094189867833576_n-2-768x512.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/imgs.mongabay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2026\/09\/04121518\/734644850_1017895431208149_1032094189867833576_n-2-1200x800.jpeg 1200w, https:\/\/imgs.mongabay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2026\/09\/04121518\/734644850_1017895431208149_1032094189867833576_n-2-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/imgs.mongabay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2026\/09\/04121518\/734644850_1017895431208149_1032094189867833576_n-2-350x233.jpeg 350w, https:\/\/imgs.mongabay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2026\/09\/04121518\/734644850_1017895431208149_1032094189867833576_n-2-610x407.jpeg 610w, https:\/\/imgs.mongabay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2026\/09\/04121518\/734644850_1017895431208149_1032094189867833576_n-2.jpeg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">South Korean lawmaker Lee Sang-hwi, who represents southern Pohang, talks with protesting haenyeo in Seoul on June 30, 2026. Image courtesy of Lee Sang-hwi.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Unable to afford hotel rooms, they slept on the streets. \u201cIt was a tearful experience because it was demeaning,\u201d Lee recalls.<\/p>\n<p>Their protest, however, attracted attention from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.koreaherald.com\/article\/10793285\" data-wpel-link=\"external\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"external\">national media<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/shonlee63\/posts\/pfbid0CBStJvPYSvn1FxKx2CuRUsDuwPF1MNFU9fkr2ZqRLxBqg4kVBua5Bh2ytiMpCiu4l\" data-wpel-link=\"external\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"external\">lawmaker Lee Sang-hwi<\/a>, who represents their district.<\/p>\n<p>After the sit-in, Ssangyong offered an out-of-court settlement. The divers decline to disclose the proposed settlement sum, but Jeong Mi-ja, 77, the unofficial leader of the haenyeo, says it amounted to little. \u201cAfter we pay for the costs of [going to] Seoul, it\u2019s finished,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n<p>Ssangyong did not reply to Mongabay\u2019s request for comment by the time this story was published.<\/p>\n<h2>Between a rock and a hard place<\/h2>\n<p>The haenyeo are leaning toward signing the settlement, although they say they realize the money offered by Ssangyong is far from enough.<\/p>\n<p>The alternative is going through a costly years-long lawsuit, with no guarantee of winning.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_328676\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-328676\" src=\"https:\/\/imgs.mongabay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2026\/09\/04060604\/Haenyeo-play-cards-768x512.jpeg\" alt=\"A group of haenyeo, including from left clockwise, Im Gil-seok, Kim Choon-hee and Lee Yeon-oak Haenyeo play go-stop, an old Korean card game, in a seashore gazebo in Guman-ri, South Korea, on Aug. 15, 2026, during their weekly meeting. Image by Andrew Jeong for Mongabay.\" width=\"768\" height=\"512\" srcset=\"https:\/\/imgs.mongabay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2026\/09\/04060604\/Haenyeo-play-cards-768x512.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/imgs.mongabay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2026\/09\/04060604\/Haenyeo-play-cards-1200x800.jpeg 1200w, https:\/\/imgs.mongabay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2026\/09\/04060604\/Haenyeo-play-cards-350x233.jpeg 350w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">From left clockwise, Im Gil-seok, Kim Choon-hee and Lee Yeon-oak Haenyeo play go-stop, an old Korean card game, with other haenyeo in a seashore gazebo in Guman-ri, South Korea, on Aug. 15, 2026, during their weekly meeting. Image by Andrew Jeong for Mongabay.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>They will also have to hire outside experts to collect enough scientific data to establish a causal relationship between the construction work at the harbor and the destruction of Guman-ri\u2019s coastal habitat.<\/p>\n<p>The haenyeo say they\u2019re also aware that the alternative to a settlement, a lawsuit, could last a decade or even more. And by the time it ends, regardless of the outcome, some of them would be over 90. They might even be dead, Im tells Mongabay.<\/p>\n<p>Choi Jae-hong, a lawyer in Seoul who specializes in environmental cases, says the haenyeo are fighting an uphill battle.<\/p>\n<p>They will have to prove that the debris from the construction either \u201cdestroyed the food sources of the marine life in the area and starved them to death, or that [the debris] clogged the breathing organs and suffocated the marine life,\u201d he tells Mongabay by phone.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s really hard to prove,\u201d Choi continues. \u201cAnd expensive.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The fact that the waters off Guman-ri aren\u2019t private property further undermines their case, he adds.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_328674\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-328674\" src=\"https:\/\/imgs.mongabay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2026\/09\/04060537\/Protected-areas-board-768x512.jpeg\" alt=\"A notice posted by South Korea\u2019s Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, seen on Aug. 16, 2026, shows that the waters off Guman-ri and Daebo-ri are protected areas and that damaging or harming the spawning grounds or habitats is strictly prohibited.\" width=\"768\" height=\"512\" srcset=\"https:\/\/imgs.mongabay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2026\/09\/04060537\/Protected-areas-board-768x512.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/imgs.mongabay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2026\/09\/04060537\/Protected-areas-board-1200x800.jpeg 1200w, https:\/\/imgs.mongabay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2026\/09\/04060537\/Protected-areas-board-350x233.jpeg 350w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A notice posted by South Korea\u2019s Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, seen on Aug. 16, 2026, shows that the waters off Guman-ri and Daebo-ri are protected areas and that damaging or harming the spawning grounds or habitats is strictly prohibited. Image by Andrew Jeong for Mongabay.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Research, however, has shown how coastal construction can adversely affect nearby marine habitats.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe diffusion of suspended sediment resulting from construction clouds the water, undermines marine animals\u2019 ability to breathe and feed, and destroys spawning grounds and habitats,\u201d Yoon Han-sam, a professor of marine and harbor engineering at Pukyong National University in Busan, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.jkosmee.or.kr\/_PR\/view\/?aidx=49601&amp;bidx=4451\" data-wpel-link=\"external\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"external\">writes<\/a> in a paper published in the <i>Journal of the Korean Society for Marine Environment and Energy<\/i>. \u201cThis is the most common cause of damage to fishing grounds.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>For now, some of the haenyeo hire buses two to three times a week to travel three hours north to coastal towns like Yeongdeok to earn a living.<\/p>\n<p>Instead of the usual dawn wake-up time, their day now starts at 2 a.m. It takes them two hours to get ready, including getting suited up, and another three hours to reach their new diving grounds.<\/p>\n<p>The 16-hour day ends at 6 p.m. Even the indefatigable haenyeo say the work is unsustainable.<\/p>\n<h2>A bleak future<\/h2>\n<p>The women are also contemplating a lawsuit against the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, which they accuse of proceeding with the construction project without their consent.<\/p>\n<p>The Pohang Regional Office of Oceans and Fisheries has denied accusations of wrongdoing. An official tells Mongabay that the office notified Guman-ri\u2019s representatives about the construction multiple times between 2017 and 2020.<\/p>\n<p>It was the responsibility of those representatives, and not the government, to then inform the haenyeo, the official says.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_328683\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-328683\" src=\"https:\/\/imgs.mongabay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2026\/09\/04072039\/Gumanri-alley-768x512.jpeg\" alt=\"An alleyway in Guman-ri, a fishing village on the eastern coast of South Korea.\" width=\"768\" height=\"512\" srcset=\"https:\/\/imgs.mongabay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2026\/09\/04072039\/Gumanri-alley-768x512.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/imgs.mongabay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2026\/09\/04072039\/Gumanri-alley-1200x800.jpeg 1200w, https:\/\/imgs.mongabay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2026\/09\/04072039\/Gumanri-alley-350x233.jpeg 350w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">An alleyway in Guman-ri, a fishing village on the eastern coast of South Korea. Image by Andrew Jeong for Mongabay.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Choi, the lawyer, says the haenyeo are likely to face a steeper uphill battle to sue the authorities because under South Korean law, the government doesn\u2019t need to directly apprise them about the construction plan. \u201cIf they want to go [to] court, it might be actually better to file a lawsuit against Ssangyong.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The haenyeo don\u2019t necessarily expect to win any hypothetical lawsuit against the government. But if they do, some of the reparation money could be used to clean up the harbor, says Seo In-mahn, Jeong\u2019s nephew.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe marine habitat in front of Guman-ri and Daebo-ri isn\u2019t the sole possession of the haenyeo grandmothers,\u201d says Seo, 67.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is the community\u2019s,\u201d he says. \u201cIf you think about it, the habitat is also that of the entire country, and the world.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo shouldn\u2019t the entire world care about what\u2019s happening here?\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Banner image:<\/strong> Guman-ri resident and haenyeo Kim Choon-hee walks along the village coastline on Aug. 15, 2026, looking at debris suspected of coming from the nearby construction. Image by Andrew Jeong for Mongabay.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p><b>Citation:<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Yoon, H.-S. (2026). A study on estimation of weighted suspended sediment concentration as an indicator in environmental impact assessment for marine construction projects. <i>Journal of the Korean Society for Marine Environment &amp; Energy,<\/i> <i>29<\/i>(2), 201-210. doi:<a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.7846\/JKOSMEE.2026.29.2.201\" data-wpel-link=\"external\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"external\">10.7846\/JKOSMEE.2026.29.2.201<\/a><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"DH00DVB9mY\">\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/news.mongabay.com\/2026\/08\/acehs-community-fishers-struggle-to-preserve-tradition-amid-blooms-of-plastic-pollution\/\" data-wpel-link=\"internal\">Aceh\u2019s community fishers struggle to preserve tradition amid blooms of plastic pollution<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden;\" title=\"\u201cAceh\u2019s community fishers struggle to preserve tradition amid blooms of plastic pollution\u201d \u2014 Conservation news\" src=\"https:\/\/news.mongabay.com\/2026\/08\/acehs-community-fishers-struggle-to-preserve-tradition-amid-blooms-of-plastic-pollution\/embed\/#?secret=s5TyctFpCw#?secret=DH00DVB9mY\" data-secret=\"DH00DVB9mY\" width=\"500\" height=\"282\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<div id=\"single-article-footer\">\n<div id=\"cite-article\" class=\"align-left banner bg-brand-color crossref-doi outlined ph--16 pv--16\">\n<h2>Cite this article<\/h2>\n<p><span class=\"crossref-doi\">Andrew Jeong (2026). South Korea\u2019s \u2018sea women\u2019 seek justice after marine habitat devastated by harbor work. Mongabay Conservation news. DOI: <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.66709\/news-328703\" data-wpel-link=\"external\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"external\">https:\/\/doi.org\/10.66709\/news-328703<\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"container in-column about-editor-translator gap--40 pv--80\">\n<div class=\"container grid--3 repeat gap--40\">\n<div class=\"in-row gap--16\">\n<div class=\"author-avatar\">\n                    <img alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ebebfd06926a49aa777d097c555e9c92e9903fa78dfa3c0854ae574beae23139?s=32&amp;d=identicon&amp;r=g\" srcset=\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ebebfd06926a49aa777d097c555e9c92e9903fa78dfa3c0854ae574beae23139?s=64&amp;d=identicon&amp;r=g 2x\" class=\"avatar avatar-32 photo\" height=\"32\" width=\"32\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\"\/>        <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\n                            <span class=\"article-comments\"><a href=\"\" data-wpel-link=\"internal\"\/><\/span>&#13;<br \/>\n&#13;<br \/>\n                            &#13;<br \/>\n        &#13;\n                        <\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#13; A community of hanyeo, South Korea\u2019s free-diving women fishers, accuse a harbor project in&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1185,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[12,2992,843,2993,708,2990,760,14,9,11,250,2991,13,439,10,2,87,143],"class_list":["post-1184","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-unicorn778","tag-bermain","tag-devastated","tag-habitat","tag-harbor","tag-justice","tag-koreas","tag-marine","tag-online","tag-peluang","tag-saat","tag-sea","tag-seek","tag-slot","tag-south","tag-terburuk","tag-unicorn778","tag-women","tag-work"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/webmediamall.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1184","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/webmediamall.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/webmediamall.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webmediamall.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webmediamall.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1184"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/webmediamall.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1184\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webmediamall.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1185"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/webmediamall.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1184"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webmediamall.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1184"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webmediamall.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1184"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}