Humans of Jeju

An introverted person, she chose Jeju Island as her first solo travel destination. However, despite wandering through quiet cafes and bookstores, she realized there was no space solely dedicated to spending time alone. With a vague idea of creating a special space for solo travelers someday, she quit her job that she had been with for ten years. While pondering about her future and livelihood, she...

From a young age, he was proficient with computers. Whenever he participated in computer competitions, he always clinched the first place. Although he naturally pursued computer science in college, a brief stint working on construction sites as a part-time job led him to change his life's course, inspired by the resolute demeanor of architects. After majoring in architecture and completing gra...

She has loved drawing since childhood. Due to family circumstances, she had to attend a beauty academy instead of an art school, but it was an opportunity that opened her eyes to makeup at an early age. Starting her assistant career at the age of 22, she is now an 18-year experienced makeup artist. She has worked on almost every makeup-related task, including fashion shows, advertisements, magazin...

A third-generation haenyeo raised in a family of haenyeo. She entered the fishing village as a rookie haenyeo after her mother had been the youngest haenyeo for 50 years, and she has been gathering marine products for three years. She is dedicated to documenting everything about haenyeo and telling stories of the sea. Affiliated with the Haenyeo Cultural Research Institute, she engages in various...

A third-generation haenyeo raised in a family of haenyeo. She entered the fishing village as a rookie haenyeo after her mother had been the youngest haenyeo for 50 years, and she has been gathering marine products for three years. She is dedicated to documenting everything about haenyeo and telling stories of the sea. Affiliated with the Haenyeo Cultural Research Institute, she engages in various...

Together with her husband and two cats, she has settled in Daejeong-eup area of Seogwipo City. Having worked as a designer in Seoul for 15 years, gradually expanding her expertise into illustration and graphic design, she discovered a space that used to be a stationery store 15 years ago. Inspired by this, she opened her own brand, "JooJoo Studio." This place operates as a showroom selli...

The artist Kim Kyung-suk, after her daughter received the diagnosis of a rare disease called 'Type 1 Diabetes' in 2014, dedicated ten years to taking care of her. Juggling the responsibilities as a mother, she faced the challenges of guiding her daughter through adolescence, especially after her daughter declared independence, expressing her intention to manage her own health upon entering...

He operates the <Gamdong Space Lab>, adding meaning and stories to spaces to create 'new experiences and value'. In Jeju, he has planned spaces for Nexon, Zippo Museum, and Snoopy Garden. Through his connection with Nexon, 10 years ago, he has explored various places in Jeju Island. Considering Jeju as a suitable location to embody the spaces he envisions, he relocated both his resid...

He came to Jeju Island in 2013 and initially planned to stay for one or two years, but now he's in his tenth year on the Island. The haenyeo series, which he thought would be completed within a year, showed no signs of ending, and it led him to plan a new project, meeting the elders who experienced the Jeju April 3rd Incident. Listening and working with an open heart, he meticulously records t...

He came to Jeju Island in 2013 and initially planned to stay for one or two years, but now he's in his tenth year on the Island. The haenyeo series, which he thought would be completed within a year, showed no signs of ending, and it led him to plan a new project, meeting the elders who experienced the Jeju April 3rd Incident. Listening and working with an open heart, he meticulously records t...

Majoring in rehabilitation studies and minoring in social welfare, she first encountered sign language through school courses. Since 2000, she has worked as a sign language interpreter. In the days before apps, she interpreted various aspects of the lives of the hearing-impaired, from simple daily tasks such as ordering black bean noodles over the phone to interpreting marriage declarations and de...

She is a social artist and seed mediator who views the world through the perspective of native seeds. After majoring in pure art and working in the field of public art after graduation, she moved to Jeju to expand her experiences. Engaging in personal gardening, she discovered the meaning and value of native seeds, leading her to establish the role of a "seed mediator" to convey the stor...

He grew up witnessing his great-grandmother personally brewing alcohol and sharing it with people, fostering a culture of communal drinking. Recognizing at early age that places with alcohol can also host people and culture, he decided to continue his great-grandmother's legacy and founded <Isibo Brewery> in 2021. Cultivating crops directly in the flatlands of Sindo-ri village, he produc...

They are musicians who, while living in Jeju, enjoy everyday life and create music. In 2017, they released their first album, <All Our Lives >, and later moved to Jeju Island. In 2019, commuting between Jeju and the mainland, they released their second album, <Song From Far Away>. On November 1, 2023, after four years, they presented their third album, <Comedy>. They create songs...

In Seoul, he worked as a photographer capturing portrait with a 150-year-old camera. During a brief stay in Jeju, he fell in love with the island. Following his heart, he cleaned up his life in Seoul and even changed his profession. The brand 'ODUJEJ', embodying Jeju through his perspective, started with his initial interest in 'meodeul (Jeju language for a pile of stones)'. Subseq...

She is living as the caretaker of Dullang Meditation Salon in Jeju's original downtown. She lived a busy life in Seoul as a career woman until her early 40s, but one day, she found it difficult to cope with the burnout that came her way, and this led her to study meditation. After completing a graduate program in "Meditation Counseling," she is now pursuing her doctoral studies. Thro...

As a child, Kim Duri fell in love with the wonders of the great outdoors and wildlife during her time in Tanzania, and dreamt of becoming an elephant trainer or a wildlife photographer. However, life took her on a different path, far removed from those dreams. But her fate led her to work at a horse riding stable, where she discovered the importance of communication and training with horses. She b...

His hometown is Seogwipo City, Jeju Island. After majoring in Western painting, he spent quite a long time in a period of wandering. He worked as an assistant at an Aboriginal art center in the middle of the Australian desert and taught drawing to refugee children in Thailand. Afterward, he worked for a publishing company, handling design and illustration, and occasionally writing. It has been nin...

She is both a picture book author and a mother of three children. After acknowledging and accepting that her second child had developmental disabilities, she began writing and drawing. She is the author of <Mom, For You> and <Watching the Sun in Jeju>. She has also collaborated with parents of children with developmental disabilities to create picture books like <Introducing Our Chi...

She started learning the piano from a piano teacher who lived in her neighborhood when she was a child. Growing up in a household that loves music and encouraged by her piano teacher, she majored in classical piano. While she enjoyed performing on stage through collaborations and competitions, what she truly loves is planning performances for musicians who aspired to stand on stage. During her col...

She was born in Incheon City. Due to the nature of her father’s job as a military officer, her family moved to various places, and she spent her childhood growing up in Busan City. The reason for her inseparable connection with Hangyeong-myeon Area of Jeju Island is that it is her parents’ hometown. Her father is from Geumdeung-ri Village and her mother is from Gosan-ri Village. When she was a hig...

Kim Im-saeng has been working as a haenyeo (female diver) for 35 years in Gosan-ri village of Jeju City Hangyeong-myeon area. Despite being over seventy years old, she still enjoys diving, and she wishes to continue the life of a haenyeo in the years to come. Her talent includes singing traditional Jeju songs like ‘Seowoojesori’ and ‘leodosana’, and her hobby is cooking. In 2018, she was invited a...

After completing his medical training in Seoul, he came down to Jeju and took his first steps as a doctor. Liking Jeju, his been living on the island for 13 years now, and a year and a half ago, he opened a neighborhoond clinic where you can see the scenery of Jeju sea and the Hallasan Mountain. Consistently posting writings on the blog, defining his identity as a doctor, he compiled those writing...

Her father's last wish was to live in Jeju, so without hesitation, she sorted out her life in Seoul and moved to Jeju Island. But was her father's wish, his last gift to her? Sadly, her father couldn't join her in Jeju. Left alone in Jeju, she decided to continue living there. Then, she fell in love with dogs. Currently, she lives in Sincheon-ri, Seongsan-eup, with eight stray dogs and...

Having established his architectural office in Jeju City, Kwon Jung-woo, originally from Seogwipo City, initially had little knowledge about Jeju City’s original downtown area. However, the place where he coincidentally began his architectural journey, Jeju City’s original downtown, has become a treasure to him. The downtown, where the past and present coexist, is filled with stories that need to...