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Boseong for First-Time Visitors: Korea's Green Tea Fields
Level
A2
Type
Guide
Theme
Travel
작성자
Y
작성시각
The bus climbs a hill in Jeollanam-do, and suddenly the whole slope turns green. Not grass-green, tea-green: hundreds of rows of tea bushes curving over the hillside, lined by tall cedar trees. This is Daehan Dawon, and it's the reason most people come to Boseong in the first place.
Getting there
From Seoul, take the KTX to Gwangju Songjeong Station, about an hour and 45 minutes, then transfer to a local train or intercity bus to Boseong, another hour to an hour and a half. A direct intercity bus from Seoul's Express Bus Terminal also runs straight to Boseong, taking just under 5 hours. From Gwangju, it's a much shorter hop: about an hour and a half by bus. Once you're at Boseong's bus terminal or train station, local buses (routes 70, 71-6, and 72 all pass by) or a short taxi ride will get you to the tea fields themselves.
What you'll find at Daehan Dawon
Korean | Pronunciation | Meaning |
녹차 | nok-cha | green tea |
녹차밭 | nok-cha-bat | green tea field |
입장료 | ip-jang-nyo | admission fee |
대나무 숲 | dae-na-mu sup | bamboo forest |
녹차 아이스크림 | nok-cha a-i-seu-keu-rim | green tea ice cream |
The walk in takes you past a cedar-lined path and a short stretch of bamboo forest before the 녹차밭 opens up in front of you. There's a small 입장료, a few thousand won for adults, and paths with stairs that climb the hillside for a wider view. At the rest area partway up, a café sells 녹차 아이스크림, which is less of a tourist gimmick and more of a local expectation: almost everyone who visits ends up holding one.
When to go
May brings the Boseong Green Tea Festival (다향제), when the new spring leaves are at their brightest and you can watch tea being hand-picked and roasted. If you're visiting in winter, the fields host a light festival from mid-November through early January, with LEDs strung across the tea bushes after dark. Outside of those two windows, the fields are open and green year-round, just quieter.
Boseong sits close enough to Suncheon and Yeosu that it's easy to fold into the same southern coast trip. Bring comfortable shoes for the stairs, and don't skip the ice cream at the top.