Safeguarding the ‘Pride of Jeju’: The Framing of Jeju Haenyeo Protection in Regional Media

Abstract: This research focused on the media framing of the issue of protection and safeguarding of the Haenyeo community in Jeju Island, South Korea. The Haenyeo are a community of fisherwomen who free dive to harvest sea life and are representative of the matriarchal cultural tradition of Jeju Island. This study aimed to analyze how the issue is framed in regional media and explored the reasons portrayed for the protection of the community, the strategies suggested for safeguarding and their significance for intangible cultural heritage protection in Jeju. Through the framing analysis of newspapers articles, this research highlighted the importance of Haenyeo for Jeju’s identity and appraised the existing policies. The findings suggested that while the community is framed as being widely celebrated and promoted domestically and internationally, the current measures may not effectively resolve the challenges faced by Haenyeo. This study contributed to the field of heritage studies by focusing on the media’s framing of the management of intangible cultural heritage. Further research is recommended to examine the perspectives of the community itself and to consider a broader sample size for a more comprehensive understanding of the topic.