These are not real mermaids. Real mermaids are the Haenyeo (해녀) of Jeju Island, Korea. (제주도). The last of the Haenyeo generation are retiring soon. "Wearing a lead-weighted vest and goggles, they plunge into the 20-meter depths where they stay underwater holding their breath for two or three minutes. They are so adapted to life beneath the sea, they actually could be mermaids. Once they come back to the surface, they make a whistling sound, which is their unique way of breathing out the carbon dioxide and breathing in fresh oxygen. " "In the past, island girls began gathering clams or abalone by the time they were ten years old. They would dive between six to seven hours a day, but also do farm chores. The common routine was to do farm work, go diving, and then go back to do more farm work. Because of the grueling daily life, female divers had a saying: “Better to be born a cow than a woman.” " http://www.visitkorea.or.kr/ena/SI/SI_EN_3_6.jsp?cid=309618
