Hailed by CNN in its 31 must-see places around the world and widely considered among Korea's most photogenic sights, the terraced tea plantations of Boseong (보성) was a last minute addition that became one of my wife's favourite memories of the trip. It probably should have been higher on our list, but I thought we had to leave the southwestern coast for a future trip until our planned visit to the southeast was derailed by the COVID outbreak in Daegu.
Already a household name among domestic visitors, Boseong would have been internationally famous if it wasn't hidden at the farthest corner of the Korean Peninsula, a sparsely populated stretch of coastal Jeollanam-do in the deep south. And there is a good reason: tea plants simply won't survive the harsh Korean winter once you get past the southernmost 100 km of the Peninsula.
Endless rolling hills of meticulously manicured tea plants stretch across the small county, enough to cover 700 football fields and accountable for a third of Korea's national production. Initiated by the Japanese in the colonial era and expanded by Korean entrepreneurs since the 1950s, the nation's tea capital draws over a million visitors per year to its demonstration plantation set up by Daehan Dawon (대한다원), by far Korea's largest tea producer for decades until the recent challenge from Jeju's O'sulloc. But that's a different story.
For photographers and tea enthusiasts this would be an absolute must-do, and for the rest of us a 3-day trip encompassing the thatched roof town of Naganeupseong, UNESCO World Heritage Seonamsa monastery and perhaps the Suncheon Bay National Garden would make a fantastic getaway from the frenetic rhythms of Seoul.
That morning we hopped on a highspeed KTX train from Seoul to Jeonju and picked up a rental car for our 48-hour round-trip to the far south, stopping first at Boseong before spending the night at Naganeupseong. It was already 14:30 when we arrived at the plantation, and a quick glance at the map showed that 2 hours would be the bare minimum for exploring the fields with a tasting at the teahouse.
Occupying just a small corner of Daehan Dawon's expansive plantation, the demonstration area features an entire hill of selfie-able spots with several designated viewing platforms, a factory-direct store with its own tea processing workshop, its own tea museum nearby with a guesthouse for clients to fully immerse into the plantation's misty mornings, and of course the Korean necessity of dessert cafes for everything from malcha latte to tea-infused jjajangmyeon.
Those familiar with the Japanese tea capital of Uji would find Boseong's terroir eerily similar: acidic soil types, deep foggy valleys to maximize diurnal temperature variations for the prevention of frost, around 1600 mm of annual precipitation and even down to the same latitude of 34.8°N. That's certainly no coincidence, its location handpicked by Japanese pioneers modelling after Uji.
That's just another thread in the intricate linkages between Korea and Japan in the world of tea, introduced via maritime trade from Korea to medieval Japan where its ceremonial preparation blossomed into the art of Chado. Korean tea bowls became highly treasured by teamasters such as the great Sen-no-Rikyu for their raw beauty and minimalism, and in time Japanese colonists would bring their expertise to restart the tea industry in early 20th century Korea, the full maturity of which we now witness in Boseong.
While April is often promoted as the best time to visit for the year's first plucking, February and March bring in the bright colours of plum and subsequently cherry blossoms. Also strategically planted alongside the tea are rows of Korean cypresses to temper the destructive gusts from seasonal typhoons.
The exceptionally steep slopes of Boseong is a double-edged sword: a curse for plantation owners as it drastically increases labour cost, but a blessing for connoisseurs as the entire year's harvest would follow the traditional hand-plucking process typically reserved only for the first plucking in Uji's model. The only mechanization possible is the installation of flimsy monorails for transporting small crates of harvested leaves to the processing workshop at the bottom, much like the terraced vineyards in Lavaux, Switzerland.
Resting huts for workers and visiting scientists occupy a far corner of the plantation. Just north of Boseong town is Korea's 21st century national research centre for tea cultivation, responsible for preservation of genetic diversity, clonal breeding, disease resistancy improvements and other cutting edge developments.
This all breathes new life into an ancient terrain where ancestral graves can still be found scattered across the plantation. Visitors would peak in December during the annual light festival when the plantation is decked with millions of LED bulbs for Christmas season.
A 15 minute uphill hike would take visitors to two viewing platforms near the hilltop: a Tea Plantation Viewing Platform (차밭전망대) for an unbeatable vista of tea terraces from above, and an Ocean Viewing Platform (바다전망대) for a southerly view of the Korean coastline.
An undulating carpet of lush green unfolds across the rolling hills, beyond which the nearshore islands of Dadohae Haesang National Park float outward from the azure coastline of Joellanam-do. Behind the horizon would be Boseong's arch-rival in Korean tea production, the offshore province of Jeju-do best known for its O'sulloc brand of premium teas and tea-infused cosmetic products.
Despite Boseong's unenviable reputation as one of the rainiest spots in Korea, we narrowly managed to avoid the light drizzle forecasted for this day. With constant photo stops it took us over an hour to reach the top, and less than 20 minutes to return to the teahouse at the bottom for a refreshment of the plantation's own sejak tea.
With its pale yellow colour, slightly grassy notes and mild astringency, Korean sejak typically exhibits flavour and aroma profiles somewhat between Japanese sencha and Chinese greens like Biluochun. While Boseong's terroir was modelled after Japanese ideals, the processing mostly follows a Chinese-influenced methodology of pan-roasting followed by manual hand-rolling on a straw mat, repeated several times at decreasing temperatures. It's a labour intensive technique that yields a product so popular in Korea that it's rarely exported overseas.
Even on a cold February day my wife couldn't resist a nokcha ice cream, which perhaps goes well with the Korean adage of Yi Han Ji Han (이한치한), or fighting cold with cold. But following that with another frosty drink of chilled yuja citrus juice was a little over the top.
At the end we spent nearly three hours at the plantation, taking off around 17:15 towards the medieval walled village of Naganeupseong for our next two overnight stays. It was a fantastic start to a side trip that was never planned in the first place.
IF YOU GO
Boseong County (보성군) is located towards the tip of southwestern Korea in Jeollanam-do Province. The nearest city -- and highspeed train station for KTX -- is Suncheon, a 50 minute drive away with a Lotte Rent-a-Car branch conveniently located next to the train station. After picking up the car, type in Daehan Dawon's (대한다원) phone number of 02-511-3455 into the GPS. For cross reference, the Google Maps location is here.
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