Social Impacts

Starting in October 2025, I led a six-month project turning retired Haenyeo diving suits into upcycled keychains for Spring Tidings.

I got the idea after learning that roughly 1,000 Haenyeo diving suits are retired every year in Seogwipo alone. That number stuck with me, inspiring me to find a way to give those suits a second life. I pitched the idea of turning them into keychains that could promote sustainability while also getting people talking about Haenyeo culture through design. I partnered with Dasi Bada (Back to the Sea), a business focused on ocean conservation, and led the production process.

As project leader, I oversaw the whole production run and helped our team make more than 100 keychains. I split up responsibilities, coordinated production, and worked alongside team members by carefully cutting the retired diving suits into smaller pieces and incorporating the materials into intricately knitted keychains. I kept tweaking our process along the way to make production more efficient.

At Spring Tidings, I ran our booth and shared the story behind the project with everyone who stopped by. I talked to visitors about the environmental challenges surrounding retired diving suits, sold the keychains, and explained how the project ties sustainability to Haenyeo heritage. We ended up talking to people from all kinds of backgrounds and got a lot of thoughtful feedback.

In the end, we raised more than $450, which went toward preserving Haenyeo heritage and promoting environmental sustainability.