If you’ve watched (and shed tears for) the hit K-drama When Life Gives You Tangerines, you’re probably already familiar with Jeju’s haenyeos. For those who are curious about the life of these haenyeos, a new immersive dining experience centred around Jeju’s haenyeos will be opening in Singapore soon. Jeju Haenyeo is a unique immersive performance art dining experience that’ll be launching in Singapore, where you’ll get a taste of what it takes to be a haenyeo, learn about their hardships, and even savour a seafood-themed menu inspired by Jeju Island.
Image Credits: Jeju Haenyeo
After running this one-of-a-kind dining experience in Jeju for the past 6 years, they’ve finally brought it to Singapore for the first time with a permanent restaurant opening at The Arts House. For the uninitiated: these haenyeos are traditional female free divers on Jeju Island—many of whom are elderly women over 50 years of age—who harvest seafood as a livelihood. As they free dive into the ocean while holding their breath for minutes at a time (without oxygen, by the way), these women have earned the nickname Jeju’s “mermaids”.
Image Credits: Jeju Haenyeo
The multi-sensory experience takes place in a dimly-lit theatre-esque room, where diners are surrounded by floor-to-ceiling screens that’ll be showing various scenes from the lives of actual haenyeos in Jeju while you dine. The 4-course meal features 9 dishes in total, and is centred around Jeju’s traditional ingredients and seafood items. The course menu takes you through the 4 seasons of Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter, showcasing delicacies and specialties from each season, including dishes like Tangerine Geotjeori, Seafood Stew, Fish-Sauce Abalone Salad, Jeju Dombe Pork, Grilled Tilefish and more.
Image Credits: Jeju Haenyeo
While you feast on each course, keep your eyes peeled for live performances and media artworks happening in front of your eyes featuring haenyeos playing traditional instruments, dancing and more. There will even be live cooking demonstrations for some dishes, where they’re prepared on the spot before being served to you. The entire 2-hour immersive performance-style dining experience is priced at $148+ per person, and bookings start from 28th November 2025 here.
Jeju Haenyeo Singapore
Address: The Arts House Annex Building, #01-04, 1 Old Parliament Ln, Singapore 179429
Opening Hours: 5pm or 7.45pm (by reservation only)
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