South Korea is a huge consumer of coffee and loves coffee shops and spending hours in them. However, Korea is also a producer and consumer of Green Tea as well.
With various regions growing Green Tea, you can have the opportunity to visit one of these fields and enjoy the nature and scenery they provide.
In this article, we will cover the largest area of Green Tea Fields, which is Boseong in Jeolla-namdo. Read more below about this beautiful location:
Boseong Green Tea Fields
How To Get to Boseong
Boseong, located in the far south of Jeolla-namdo is quite far from Seoul and other northern metropolitan cities in Korea. Also, it isn’t connected to the KTX train line and so can’t be accessed quickly. However, if you are coming from Seoul and want to take public transportation, here is what I would recommend.
From Seoul: Take the KTX from Seoul Station to Gwangju Songjeong Station. This is about 1hr 45 minutes and as of writing this article, about 40,000krw. Then take the Gwangju Line 1 subway to Hakdong Intercity Bus Stop. This should be about 30 minutes. Then take a bus from Hakdong Intercity Bus Terminal to Boseong. This is a little over an hour and just under 10,000KRW. Once you arrive at Boseong Bus Terminal, my advice would be to take a taxi to visit the tea fields as that will be the fastest way to get there once you arrive.
From other major cities, there should be a bus to Boseong or at least a bus or train to Gwangju, which is the largest city with best connections to Boseong.
So as you can see, it’s not easy to get to Boseong, but it’s worth the time and effort to get there. Even if you are driving from Seoul, it will take over 4 hours to get there using the expressways.
Which Fields Should I Visit?
1. Daehan Dawon Green Tea Field
There are multiple Green Tea Fields in Boseong, and the most popular is the Daehan Dawon Green Tea Field. This field is open to visitors all year long and has rows and rows of green tea built on a hillside. Throughout these fields, there are multiple paths and observation decks from which to admire the scenery. It is also here at this field where multiple Korea Dramas have been filmed as well.
What also makes this Tea Field special is there are also bamboo forests and other forest walking paths that you can access from the green tea field which make for a great time to enjoy the nature. We highly recommend going the whole way to the upper observation deck as from there on a clear day, you can admire the whole tea fields below you and also the ocean.
Almost any season is good to visit here as each season gives a unique perspective, but for the best greenery, it is advised to visit here during the spring/early summer. At the beginning of Spring, you can enjoy many flowers and cherry blossoms here as well. If you visit during the winter, you won’t get the vibrant greens anymore, however, if you happen to go to the fields right after a snowfall, seeing the snow on top of the green tea plants is special.
As this field is one of the most popular, there is a good tourist infrastructure here. There is a cafe on site that sells various green tea foods, like ice cream, for you to try out and has other green tea related items as well for sale.
The cost to enter the Daehan Dawon Green Tea Field as of writing this article is 4000KRW for adults and 3000KRW for children and senior citizens. The hours that you can visit vary by season, so it’s best to check in advance to see when its open.
Below is a map of where this field is located:
On a side note, after visiting this green tea field, take some time to visit the Green Tea Museum nearby to learn more about the history of cultivating Green Tea in South Korea.
2. Myeongnyang (Botjae) Green Tea Field
The second green tea field in Boseong that I recommend visiting is Myeongnyang green tea field. This field is located right off the side of the road as you head towards Yulpo Beach (which is mentioned below). You can easily pull over if you are driving to get here, or if you are coming by taxi, just mention this place to the taxi.
What makes this field special is that it’s built on a steep hillside and the view from here is fantastic as it overlooks a pond and on clear days, you can even see the southern ocean from here.
This field is free to visit and has various paths and photo zones to enjoy. It’s smaller than Daehan Dawon, but still has a cafe and even a pension that you can stay at overnight if you want.
Also, it is around this area during December/January that the Boseong area holds a Christmas Lights festival where the fields are lined with thousands of Christmas Lights for people to enjoy and admire.
Below is a map of where this field is located:
Other things to do and see in Boseong
1. Visit Yulpo Beach
From the Myeongnyang Green Tea Field, Yulpo Beach is located about 10-15 minutes away by car. Despite its fairly remote location, this beach has become quite popular during the summer for it’s sandy beach that extends for over a kilometer and also for the nice facilities nearby.
There is a campground at this beach nestled in between rows of pine trees and there are also a few photo zones which have become famous due to instagram.
If you aren’t camping, there are also some pensions and hotels nearby where you can stay and there are lots of seafood and other restaurants nearby to appease your appetite.
2. Admire the Night Sky
Due to its remote location along the southern coast, the area around Boseong is quite good for observing the night sky. Especially these days, it has become a hot spot for photographers wanting to take pictures of the milky way core.
The best locations for this are at the dinosaur museum which I’ll talk about below and also from the beach at Bada Story Resort, which I’ll also mention below. Both these locations are quite dark and give a good vantage point for taking milky way pictures.
The best season for taking pictures of the milky way core are from March til October. As you get toward the middle of summer, the milky way core rises earlier vs. in march when you have to wait til almost 2am for the milky way core to appear over the horizon.
Be sure you have a tripod, use a high iso, a low aperature number and an exposure time of less than 25 seconds to minimize movement in the stars.
3. Learn about Korea’s Dinosaur History
Boseong is also known to be a location where dinosaur fossils and prints have been found and has become an area known for it’s dinosaur history.
So the best place to learn more about this is to visit the Boseong Bibong Dinosaur Park. While we didn’t have an opportunity to visit here, the museum is known to have some dinosaur statues and various other programs and exhibits about dinosaurs which could be a good place to go with kids.
From Google Reviews of the place, it seems to be a mixed bag. Some say the price of entry is a little bit too much compared to what you get.
If Dinosaurs interest you, we wrote another article a while ago about Goseong, which is another location in Korea to learn about the time of Dinosaurs and their relation to Korea. You can find it below:
Where to Stay in Boseong
*Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links through booking.com and agoda.com, which means I may receive a small commission, at no cost to you, if you make a purchase through a link.
Boseong has quite a few places to stay, and if you want to search on where might be good for you, feel free to use the search box below:
One place that isn’t on Booking.com but would recommend a stay at is Bada Stay Resort. This pension is located on its own beach and has a beautiful setting. There are various types of rooms and the rooms all have a small kitchen so you can cook your own meals. During the off season, you can stay here for around 100,000KRW a night, but that price does go up during peak season. To book this hotel, I would recommend having someone who speaks Korean help you, or if you can manage to use Naver Reservations, you can book it through Naver directly (which is what we did). You can also book direct from their website.
So we hope you enjoyed this short travel blog about the Green Tea Fields in Boseong and the Boseong area. If you have any questions or comments, please let us know below.
