Indeed. More people will know more about the Ama women of Japan than their Korean counterparts. I collect basic gear and a while ago I purchased a snorkelling mask on eBay from a Korean seller. The mask came in a good old-fashioned cardboard box. The top was printed with the words "DAIHAN DIVING MASK" in English and "대한 황대 수경" in Korean, while one of the flaps featured the following imagery:
These pictures led me to do a little online research into the Daihan Diving Sports company that had manufactured the article:
I located some Korean online retailers stocking the masks pictured left and centre on the middle line and centre and right on the bottom line:
I then proceeded to see what I could find out about the top line of images of fins made by the company. No luck this time on the retail front, but then I chanced upon pictures of the Haenyeo "Sea Women" of Korea who dive for seafood off the island of Jeju and earn their living by selling their catch to dealers and restaurants:
From my perspective, these yellow full-foot fins are clearly the same as those pictured on the top line left and centre on the mask box flap. If you're still unconvinced, take a look at the toe openings, which are particularly distinctive. Here's another image of a black pair:
The Daihan Diving whale logo is just visible, while the distinctive toe opening and the centre line on the blade are both there. I've also found examples of Haenyeo divers with the blue open-heel adjustable fins pictured top left on the box flap:
What interests me as a historian of diving gear is the fact that these women divers have chosen locally made traditional underwater swimming equipment to pursue their trade as seafood collectors. If the Haenyeo women freedivers have sparked your interest, you can read more about them at
Haenyeo - Wikipedia, which references videos showing them at work.