103차 토론주제 약속대로 올립니다~

[Paul]

Korea's largest tea party




Boseong turns over a new leaf

In the low mountains of Boseong County, South Jeolla Province, tea lovers come to walk the soft staircases of the green tea plantations, carved into the steep landscape.

Through June, neon green leaves illuminate this postcard-worthy spectacle that resembles a tropical scene stolen from the Philippines. The late spring brings a sleepy fog and a healthy dose of moisture that makes this region in Korea the best for growing tea.

About 300 growers are in the county and they open their fields to tourists who want to take pictures of this lush sight. Stages are set up for concerts and a local festival is held for this new concept of "agritourism." Even the pickers get into the act by wearing traditional clothes.

"Most farms are much different because they are flat," said tourist Choi Kee-tag, 43, a professor from Seoul. "But the pattern here is nice." Arranged in neat, but side-winding rows, the short bushes are only interrupted by pointy 50-foot cedar trees. The fairytale landscape has been in numerous Korean commercials, TV dramas and films.



Visitors are encouraged to pick a leaf and chew on it to taste its sweetness. Now, growers are harvesting a crop of baby leaves, or "ujeong" leaves, highly prized for their soft and nutty taste. A canister of this tea can run up to 72,000 won. June brings in a more mature leaf with a strong and bitter flavor. A third crop is packed later in the summer and harvesting ends in September.

"When someone sees the meticulous care and details that go into the harvesting and producing of green tea, it makes you appreciate and savor the taste and experience so much more," said tourist Steve Kuiack.

Japanese colonists cultivated the area in 1939 after finding green tea bushes growing in the wild, yet Koreans had been picking the crop since ancient times. The warm daylight and cool evening temperatures, plus a rare abundance of rich soil, aids in growing the peninsula's best crop of tea.

Over the past decades, Koreans have been known to follow the West and drink more coffee than tea at home or at the office. Instant coffee powders and ever-present coin-operated machines make coffee more convenient than making a cup of tea, Koreans say.

So local tourists here have the opportunity to reintroduce themselves to their own forgotten culture in an area where tea drinkers outnumber coffee addicts.

Ha Seung-wan, the mayor of Boseong County, drinks 10 cups a day.

"I haven't lost my hair and I'm not fat," Ha told The Korea Herald. "And green tea helps me clear my mind." Ha is a connoisseur of tea who appreciates it for its colors, textures and layers of tastes.

The county itself is like a tea version of California's Napa wine valley. The region plans to expand its tourism that already gets 5 million travelers, and it is set to produce more tea and related products. Another feature is shopping for rare items made with green tea on the shelves at local stores that are otherwise only found in specialty shops in Seoul.

Soap, shampoo and moisturizers with green tea ingredients are on the shelves of mom-and-pop convenience stores. Besides providing a therapeutic fragrance, studies have also found that the leaves' antioxidants and other nutrients can prevent skin diseases and relieve arthritis. In respect to this, a nearby hot springs spa now has green tea pools.

The county's Green Tea Festival held last weekend was a carnival of culinary experiments that mixed in tea, such as green tea wine that would be paired well with a roasted chicken stuffed with leaves. Side dishes like pickled tea leaves were on display with desserts of green tea jelly.

While the county chose a queen for its Miss Green Tea beauty pageant, locals competed in tea-roasting contests, in which travelers were invited to participate as well if they wanted to get their hands dirty. Another lively event was a ceremony in which eight ladies ground tea and poured it in sync. The frothy powdered tea is favored by the Japanese but becoming more popular in Korea.

The mayor's personal favorite product is a tube of green tea extract that he poured into a bottle of soju. The result: a sweeter-tasting liquor with nutrients to lessen the banging effects of a hangover felt the next day.

Along the beach are barbecued pork restaurants that serve "nokdon samgyeopsal," a pig fed green tea leaves. It tastes slightly different, but more importantly, the meat is leaner and has less cholesterol.

Koreans and foreigners visiting here purchase tea by the bagful to carry it home and start a new tradition of drinking.

"I drank a lot of coffee when I was young. In the past I didn't think about drinking tea," said Choi, who now drinks about four cups a day.

Also worth a visit in the area is the Daewon Temple, a Buddhist refuge where mothers can go to pray for aborted children. Symbolizing this are numerous small statues of babies wearing red cloth caps. Also on the campus is Korea's largest Tibetan Buddhism museum, which has various tapestries and a full-scale sand painting.

Scientists have found the fossilized remains of dinosaur eggs along the county's shore, where a museum project dedicated to the prehistory is starting. Hiking through the mountain foothills are also popular natural sights.

As well as green tea, pansori, a Korean form of opera and musical storytelling that doesn't rely on instruments originates from here and a festival is held annually to celebrate.

The sights in Boseong County can be reached within 30 minutes from the Gwangju train station, or an hour's drive of the harbor city of Mokpo. Boseong proper has a number of hotels and Daewon Temple can also accommodate travelers for an overnight stay.

For more information call Boseong's tourism bureau at (061) 852-2490 or visit

[귀여운친구]

길지 않으니 전 립으로 달께요- 외국인 친구가 한국의 가볼만한 곳을 구경시켜 달라면 어느곳을 추천하시겠어요? 그리고 그곳엔 어떤 특징이 있나요?(유명 유적지, 맛집, 멋집- 다 좋음~^^)

[Lina]

지훈이란 승혜랑 모두 땡큐~^-^* 근데..지훈아. 아직 다 안읽어 봤지만..보성차밭 소개 같은데..주제는 뭔거야?ㅡ_ㅡ;;;

[데쟈뷰]

토론주제 : 버스를 타서 만나게 되는 특별한 상황중 기억에 남는 상황이 있나요? (ex) 저같은 경우엔 술취한 아저씨가 만원짜리를 넣고 거슬러 달라고 해서 운전기사아저씨와 실랑이가 벌어졌던 기억등이 있군요. (그당시광주는 거스름돈을 거슬러주지 않았음)) p.s sorry for late

[Paul]

사실 나도 다 안 읽어 봤다.. 주제는 으음.. 무슨 차 좋아 하세요..로 할까?

[Lina]

라스트주자 은미만이 남았군..ㅎㅎㅎ 토론 주제판에 답글 달리니까 기분 왠지 좋은데?ㅎㅎㅎ