K-actress Song Ji-hyo happy to get 'scolded' while filming docuseries

Deep Dive Korea: Song Ji-hyo's Haenyeo Adventure

- Jan Lee

Growing up in the coastal city of Pohang, South Korean actress Song Ji-hyo often saw her eldest aunt return from work with a basket full of seafood.

Her aunt was a haenyeo (Korean for "sea women"), a woman who freedives, without any breathing apparatus, to harvest seafood for sale.

As a child, the 43-year-old star thought it was a simple task. But taking on the challenge of becoming a haenyeo in the upcoming BBC docuseries, Deep Dive Korea: Song Ji-hyo's Haenyeo Adventure, made her realise it was anything but.

The three-part series premieres on BBC Earth and BBC Player in Asia on May 11.

Speaking with the help of an interpreter to The Straits Times over Zoom from Kuala Lumpur, where she was promoting the show, Song said: "I thought it was a simple routine - you go into the water, catch some seafood and then you return.

"But after experiencing it for myself, it was never an easy job. You have to dive and hold your breath with no oxygen tank, so you have to compromise with nature and take only what it allows you to take. I gained newfound respect for haenyeos after the show."