Korean Tea Culture Park & Tea Museum of Korea

Why Boseong grows tea

Boseong's green terraces owe their existence to climate and deliberate planting. Near the sea, moist air and frequent mist help tea bushes grow; hillsides provide drainage. Though wild tea grew here long before modern farms, the tidy plantation rows were planted by people

In 1939, Japanese tea specialists selected Boseong for a commercial plantation during Korea's colonial period. In 1940, imported Indian-origin Benihomare tea seed was sown across 29.7 hectares. After the war, the fields expanded again from 1957, and later waves of planting turned the hills into the landscape visitors recognise today. The terraces are the result of agricultural decisions made over decades, shaped by the county's damp coastal climate

The Tea Museum of Korea sits within Korean Tea Culture Park, near these working plantations. It connects the cultivated hillside to what growers and tea makers actually do after the leaves are picked

Leaves in the hot pan

Deokkeum is the Korean method of pan-firing tea leaves. Traditional guidance describes a dry heated pan, sometimes around 250–300°C, with no cooking oil. Fresh leaves are turned quickly so heat stops the enzymes that would otherwise darken them through oxidation. The leaves are taken out, cooled and rolled to bruise their cells and shape them; heating and rolling can be repeated before final drying. The sequence affects the tea's aroma, colour and how readily its flavour enters hot water

The museum explains harvesting and processing through exhibits, while bookable workshops can let visitors try tea-making steps themselves. Other sessions may focus on whisking matcha, preparing tea or making tea-based food. Workshop schedules and fees are separate from ordinary museum admission

Pan-fired green tea often has a nutty, toasted aroma and less of the grassy scent of fresh leaves

A Goryeo royal gift and a view of the fields

Boseong has an older tea history than its modern plantation rows. Local records mention wild tea, and the museum's historical displays introduce noewoncha, a prized compressed tea of the Goryeo period. When scholar Choe Seung-ro died in 989, King Seongjong presented his household with 200 gak (boxes) of noewoncha and ten geun of another tea. Tea was a prized court gift with quantities carefully recorded

The county opened its five-storey tea museum on 11 September 2010. After a major refurbishment, it reopened in April 2021. The first-floor displays explain the crop and its processing; the second-floor gallery shows period tea utensils and a reconstructed court tea ceremony with traditional clothing. The third floor recreates Chinese, Japanese and European tea rooms, complete with different utensils and settings. The wider park also includes sori performance facilities, linking tea with another Boseong cultural tradition

From the fifth-floor observation deck, the terraces, Yeongcheon Reservoir and, on clear days, the direction of Yulpo's coast spread out below. Nearby Daehan Dawon is a separately managed tea plantation with its own admission; the museum ticket covers the museum, not that private site

Before you go

The museum is at 775 Nokcha-ro in Boseong-eup. Published museum hours are 10:00–17:00, with last entry at 16:30 and Monday and major holiday closures. The surrounding public park remains accessible beyond museum hours

From Boseong Station or Bus Terminal, rural buses toward Gunhak serve the Daehan Dawon area, although the final approach to the museum and return departures need local confirmation. A taxi directly to the museum is the simpler fallback. Museum admission, tea ceremonies and hands-on workshops have separate prices