Jeju's untamed underwater nature

The Jeju Weekly - 

What links a French woman installing trains in Seoul, a Colombian soldier, an Italian brain surgeon, and a smattering of tourists and students from European, Western and Asian countries? Answer: scuba diving off the coast of Seogwipo.

As unpaid interns at Big Blue 33, owned by instructor Ralf Deutsch, Graeme George Anderson (dive master) and James Barker (master scuba diver) have seen many people come through in the past year.

Anderson, 29, hails from north of Scotland and teaches at a hagwon in Jeju City. The 36-year-old Barker is an EPIK teacher at both Seongsan Middle and Taeheung Elementary schools. He is from Kent, England.

When did you come to Korea? How long have you been on Jeju ? 

Graeme: I came to Korea when I flew from Scotland on Boxing Day [Dec. 26] 2009, and I spent six months on the mainland and decided I wanted a different job, so I moved to Jeju.

James: I came to Korea on the first of October 2007. I was two years teaching as part of the EPIK program in Gyeongsanbuk-do in a small town called Sangju and on the first of September 2009, I came to Jeju.

Where did you first learn to scuba dive? What was your purpose ? 

Graeme: Purpose ? To breathe underwater and see cool things. Purpose? Well, scuba was always something I wanted to do. I grew up on the coast and always every summer was spent swimming at the sea, jumping off the rocks and other things.

I was always curious as to what was under the waves. I was working in a summer camp in upstate New York and I got certified from a guy who did a scuba program at the camp. He gave us a deal at Lake George in upstate New York for open water and my advanced certificates, and that was the summer of 2008.

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