Venturing to the Beautiful Boseong Green Tea Fields

While studying abroad in Korea, one of my favorite adventures was visiting the Boseong Green Tea Fields.

Located in the Jeonnam province, this tea plantation is a must-see if you find yourself in the southwest of South Korea. I had been researching some of the most cool places to explore on weekend trips from Seoul, but, in all honesty, I don’t think I ever imagined I would actually make it to this place. Looking at the pictures online it looked almost unattainably beautiful. That’s aside from the slightly confusing advice I found online, which made it seem as though getting to the tea fields would be a herculean task. I was also too young to rent a car in Korea, so I figured getting there would be far too difficult. Come to my surprise, it was relatively easy to reach Boseong by bus, and the sight of the rolling, green fields is something I cherish to this day.

So, how do you get to Boseong?

For the sake of this guide, I’m basing my information off of my experience reaching the tea fields from Gwangju, South Korea’s sixth-largest city and home to a historical pro-democracy uprising in 1980. My friend Grace and I had been couchsurfing for the weekend there, and After waking up at an oppressively early time on Sunday morning, we trekked to the bus station, and bought our tickets. The people working at the station were super helpful and made sure we wound up on the right bus. 

Don’t be afraid to ask for help!

I think that is something that should be applied to any travel guide, especially as someone that hates to be a burden. It can seem like muddling through and figuring it out yourself is the best option, but people are generally happy to point you in the right direction, especially if you ask nicely! It’s always better to get clarification, than to stress about something and then ultimately wind up in the wrong place (which was actually something I really got concerned about).

What is there to do at the plantation?

I would suggest wearing comfortable shoes, as there is plenty of walking to be done. After making it to the top, assuming you have nice weather, you should be able see out all the way to the ocean. I think it’s in those moments, surveying as the land stretches out beneath you, and as you see the water and sky go off into infinity that I really begin to think about how huge the world is. 

After you have finished exploring, it’s likely you’ll have worked up an appetite. I wasn’t feeling adventurous enough to try any of their green tea infused foods, but something about green tea noodles has definitely intrigued me as of late. That day, we opted for green tea ice cream, which I personally don’t think you can go wrong with. I also bought an obscene amount of green tea. It was some of the best tea I’ve ever had, and I was grief stricken when I finally ran out of packets in Berlin. I’ve never really been one for souvenirs, but there is something wholesome about bringing a piece of your travels along with you.

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Hopefully one day you can make it to see these marvelous tea fields yourself!