What is Sumbi?
Sumbi is a digital detox app that turns time away from your phone into a haenyeo's dive. Set a dive time and put your phone down; the haenyeo on screen descends into the sea, and completing the dive lets you meet sea creatures and tend an ocean of your own. Sumbi measures its success by the time you don't spend in the app.
What is sumbisori, and why the name Sumbi?
Sumbisori is the long whistling breath a Jeju haenyeo lets out, "hoo-ee♪", when she surfaces after a dive. That is where the name comes from. A haenyeo stays in the sea only as long as one breath allows. Sumbi is built the same way.
How is Sumbi related to Jeju haenyeo culture?
Everything, from the name to the rules, comes from Jeju haenyeo culture. The name comes from the haenyeo's breath, the sumbisori. The "only as long as your breath allows" rule comes from divers who work without oxygen tanks. And releasing creatures back to the open sea echoes halmang-badang, the custom of reserving shallow waters for elderly divers. The Culture of Jeju Haenyeo was inscribed by UNESCO in 2016. Read the full story →
How do I start?
You choose just two things: dive time and breathing room. Breathing room is how long you may use other apps mid-dive (0 to 60 seconds). Use it all, and the haenyeo runs out of breath and surfaces; that dive ends there.
What happens if I fail a dive?
"You surfaced a little early. Your time in the sea is kept in your log." That is how a dive ends. No dying trees, no wilting plants, no red warnings. Catch your breath and dive again.
Why set breathing room to 0 seconds?
You won't dare pick up your phone. And it goes on the record.
Can money improve the odds?
No. Money doesn't buy probability. Not settings, not friends. Only time in the sea moves the odds. The chance of an abyssal creature never exceeds 8% on any dive, and that number is published inside the app.
Is there a subscription?
No. Everything essential is free. If you like, you can invite a few creatures for a small one-time price; once invited, they are yours forever. We don't sell loot boxes.
Does a phone call fail my dive?
No. Phone calls are okay. Taking an incoming call never counts as a failure. Finish the call, come back, and your dive continues, even in the abyss.
What changes when I dive at night?
Dives started between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. meet different faces; some creatures only wake at night. The abyss, though, is always night.
How are my dives recorded?
Like a diary. No scores, no rankings, no week-over-week charts. Just the day's dive and the creatures you met, written down quietly.
What happens if I delete my account?
Everything, including your ocean, dive logs, and invited creatures, is deleted immediately and cannot be recovered. We built nothing to hold on to those who leave.
Sumbi
UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage · Inscribed 2016
The Culture of Jeju Haenyeo →
