Kim Ha-Won’s “Haenyeo’s Kitchen” on Jeju Island

Alumni of the School of Drama Kim Ha-Won’s “Haenyeo’s Kitchen” is becoming one of the hottest local dining places on Jeju Island as over ten thousand people have visited the place since its opening last year. Haenyeo means female divers in Jeju Island who dive to collect seaweed, shellfish and other seafood in a unique way and was designated as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO.

The “Haenyeo’s Kitchen” is the name of many things. First, it refers to the start-up business which Kim Ha-Won set up with his university alumni. It is also the restaurant’s name, and lastly, it is the title of performance showing in this place. Kim, who herself is from Jeju, decided to open this place after she was shocked by the reality in which seafood from Jeju was sold at prices lower than it should be. To deal with her concern, she remodeled an abandoned fresh fish market for a social dining culture complex and made four plays on the lives of four haenyeos. 

The plays are on stage twice a day, and now the “Hanyeo’s Kitchen” has become a program where the performance, stories, and dining co-exist. When the show is over, the real hanyeos from the plays come to the stage and have questions and answers session with the audience. The dishes cooked with seafood caught by local haenyeos from Joldal village after the performance is indeed a highlight of the Haenyeo’s Kitchen. 

As the Haenyeo’s Kitchen makes success and helps to invigorate the local seafood market, it sets a win-win example for cohabitation between culture and arts and the local economy.