BBC] How South Korea's 'real-life mermaids' made Malala want to learn to swim

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0r8gze5wv4o

Malala: How South Korea's 'real-life mermaids' made her want to learn to swim

Forget the fish tails, we mean women capable of holding their breath for minutes on end as they dive under the sea several hundred times a day.

on end 쉬지 않고, 계속

their traditions and way of life are in danger as fewer younger women take up the profession

take up 계속하다, 배우다

"I was so struck by them for the same reasons that you see in the film - they were so incredibly bold and vibrant and confident. They were also so loud... fighting and laughing, and they just gave off this very big energy and occupied their space so unapologetically,”

be struck by ~에 끌리다/감명받다
give off 발산하다
unapologetically 당당하게

The film follows the women going about their gruelling work during the harvest season and examines the challenges they face both in and out of the water.

gruelling 고된, 대단히 힘든

"The haenyeo communities, they're very insular," she explains.

insular 배타적인

They wanted to talk about the fact that they felt that they were on the verge of extinction.

on the verge of ~의 직전에

And now the ocean - and the women's livelihood - is under threat.

livelihood 생계

While the haenyeo do harvest marine life, there are regulations in place about when they’re allowed to harvest certain seafood, which helps to protect the ecosystem.

in place 준비된


A training school was set up in the early 2000s to try to stem the dwindling numbers but only 5% of those attending go on to become haenyeos.

dwindling 점차 줄어드는