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The tide influences the concept of time and life style infishermen’s culture. As the West Sea of Korea has springtides ranging from 3 to 9 metres high, fishermen in this areaare highly attuned to tidal changes. Based on ethnographicresearch at a fishing village on the West Sea, this paper reviewsthe traditional knowledge of Korean fishermen about tide andtime, categorised by the concept of multtae (tide time). I developthe argument in three parts. First, I describe what multtae is, andby what time units the tidal changes are measured. Second, Iexplain the principles and the folk classification of the 15-daytidal cycle by analysing the native terminology of multtae. Third,I define the unique life of the fishermen both at sea and onland who rely on the tide as ‘multtae life,’ and describe how theknowledge of multtae is used in their daily life. The fishermen’scognitive system of multtae focuses on the sari (spring tides)and the jogeum (neap tides), with more emphasis on the sari. The fishermen’s traditional knowledge of multtae provides agood example of intangible cultural heritage by showing howsystematically a natural phenomenon can be recognised andbecome a part of local culture.
