Authenticity and Sustainability in Tourism of the Jeju Haenyeo Culture - The Case of ‘Haenyeo’s Kitchen’ in Jeju

The purpose of this study is to critically examine the tourism of Jeju Haenyeo culture from the perspective of ‘authenticity’. In order to ensure the sustainability of tourism resources of Jeju Haenyeo culture, it is necessary to form an authenticity that can bring out the experience and impression of Jeju Haenyeo strongly to tourists visiting Jeju. In particular, it is important to strategically form objective authenticity and constructive authenticity in order to draw attractive and intense existential authenticity to tourists. To this end, it is necessary to form a competitive and attractive authenticity from the perspective of tourism producers. As a representative example that fits the purpose of this study, the authors focused on the ‘Haenyeo’s Kitchen’, which is operated as a theater-style restaurant in Jeju. Through close cooperation between a young artist from the Haenyeo family and the local community, the ‘Haenyeo’s Kitchen’ formed a more attractive and rare authenticity than the existing case of turning Jeju Haenyeo culture into tourism resources. Tourists who visited the ‘Haenyeo’s Kitchen’ were able to more strongly sympathize with the life of Jeju Haenyeo (Women Divers) and their culture. However, in the case of ‘Haenyeo’s Kitchen’, it was confirmed that there are limitations in terms of sustainability of Jeju Haenyeo (Women Divers) in the process of experiencing the strategically formed authenticity