The Green Tea Plantations of Boseong

When Koreans think of Boseong, they think of green tea. Green tea has a long history in Korea. The drink came to Korea in the ninth century AD, when a Korean envoy brought back tea seeds from Tang China. The seeds were planted on the slopes of the Jirisan Mountains near Ssanggyesa Temple, where they took root and prospered.

The plantations in Boseong, however, are of much more recent vintage. In the 1930s, colonialists from green tea-mad Japan took notice of the hillsides of the coastal town, blessed with soil, humidity and day-night temperature differences perfect for tea cultivation. In 1939, the Japanese established the first commercial tea plantation in the area, with their tell-tale attention to landscaping and ascetics. In 1945, with Japan’s defeat in World War II, Korea’s Japanese overlords went home, and Boseong’s lone tea plantation fell into disuse. In 1957, however, a Korean capitalist purchased the old tea fields and established Daehan Tea Plantation. Soon, more tea plantations were established nearby, stretching all the way to the coast. Boseong’s tea industry flourished, and today, the town accounts for some 40% of Korea’s green tea production.


The most-visited plantation is the aforementioned Daehan Tea Plantation. This is the oldest, largest and most beautiful of the area’s tea gardens. The plantation bills itself as a “watercolor-like tea field,” and this is no exaggeration. Spread out over some 561 hectares of hillside, the fields are a pleasant mix of rows of green tea and beautiful forests.
Before you get to the tea fields, however, you must walk along a wooded path lined by a running brook and towering Japanese cedar trees, This walkway, shaded by a canopy of green not unlike the vaulted roofs of the great cathedrals of Europe, is just as famous as the green tea plantation itself. Keep your eyes open — if you’re lucky, you’ll spy the occasional squirrel or chipmunk scurrying about the woods.
The green tea fields are criss-crossed with walking paths and flights of stairs. There are viewing galleries strategically placed throughout — you’ll have no trouble finding them. In spring, the fields release the strong scent of green tea — the aroma is truly enchanting, and when the trees begin flowering, it’s as if you’ve entered paradise.

Entry to Daehan Tea Plantation is 1,600 won. Below the fields, there is a wooded pond where you can enjoy green-tea ice cream or just a cup of tea. The plantation also has restaurants (specializing in green-tea food products), shops and other visitor facilities. If you’re looking to purchase tea by the bulk, this might be a good place to do it.
Besides Daehan Tea Plantation, there are several large plantations that continue all the way to the port village of Yulpo. In fact, just a five-minute walk up the road from the entrance of the Daehan Tea Plantation is the Botjae Tea Plantation, which offers visitors magnificent views of terraced hillsides stretching all the way to the sea. To get to the tea plantations, just take a local bus from Boseong Bus Terminal — the nice people working at the terminal will tell you which bus to board.

http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/SI/SI_EN_3_6.jsp?cid=557091