A Day Trip for the Boseong Green Tea Fields and Yulpo Beach

S]ituated in the South Jeolla Province of South Korea are the Boseong Green Tea Plantations. We have been waiting all spring to visit the picturesque tea fields during peak season (May-August) to see what all the fuss was about.

It was quite a mission to get to Boseong Green Tea Plantations from just outside of Seoul. After about six hours of travel, we made it! (Directions below!)

Daehan Dawon Tea Plantation

The first and most famous tea field we went to was Daehan Dawon Tea Plantation. Admission is 3,000 KRW (aprox. $3) per person. The lush green, curvy, beautifully lined rows of tea fields tucked between mountains and cedar trees was an overwhelmingly magnificent site. Not only do your eyes have sensory overload, but the scent of the green tea was in the air.

There is one particular area marked with a sign that reads “photo spot” that has the well-groomed and maintained tea plants for the best photo opportunities. The rest of the tea fields are a little more overgrown. This tea plantation is also a filming location for a Korean Drama.

SEE ALSO: A Day Trip to Seoraksan

After walking the grounds you can enjoy the different foods flavored with green tea and shops selling the local tea and products. We indulged ourselves with a cold green tea noodle soup and our favorite, green tea ice cream.

Botjae Dawon Tea Plantation

About a 5 minute walk out of the entrance to the right is another tea plantation named Botjae Dawon. This place was empty and we weren’t sure if we were at the right place for a moment. This place has more of a mom and pop farm feel to it compared to the touristy Daehan next door.

We walked the grounds in about 10 minutes. The good thing was it was free, however, the place was really run down and not worth visiting. Afterward, we decided to get some more green tea, which was the best decision we could have made.  The green tea ice cream at Botjae was surprisingly better! So if you are only planning to try once, come here for the green tea ice cream! 

 Yulpo Beach 

This small beach town is a 10-minute ride by bus or cab from the tea fields. We were visiting during low tide and the most of the sand was more like wet mud with sand crabs scurrying everywhere. It would have been more beautiful had it been a day where the skies were clear and you could see the neighboring mountains in the sea.

There really is not a whole lot to do here, but if you are stuck here overnight or for a few hours there is a seaside resort spa called Yulpo Haesu Nogchatang that has salt water pumped in for treatment baths as well as green tea baths. The spa is open from 6 am to 8 pm.

We didn’t enjoy Yulpo all that much. We are a bit spoiled being from California, and maybe it was a combination of being from Southern California and being there during May, but it was one of the worst beaches we’ve ever seen. The best part of it was having the sand between our toes that reminded us of home. We called it a day after an hour walking along the sand, grabbed some makgeolli and chatted with some locals as we waited for the bus to start heading back to Gwangju.

Overall, Boseong is a beautiful area to visit. If you are from Seoul, it can be a long journey to travel. If you’re ready to get started check out the tabs below to give you directions from specific destinations.

 We took the KTX from Haengsin Station to the Gwangju KTX Station.

We took the KTX from Haengsin Station to Gwangju.
Approximately 4-hour ride
41,300 KRW per person each way (around $41.30)
*Train available every 30 minutes starting at 7:05 am (we suggest you take the earliest departure time)

You can also leave from Yongsan and Seoul Station if those are closer to you.[/tab][tab]From the Gwangju KTX Station we had to get to U Square Bus Terminal to connect to Boseong.

You can take the local city bus #30 outside the KTX station to U-Square Bus Terminal. The bus station will be across the street and the first one on the right.

In case you have any issues or want to double check. There is an information desk right outside the Gwangju KTX Station.

Travel time is approximately 20 minutes. You will see U-Square on your left. It is huge and hard to miss!

From Gwangju U-Square Bus Terminal you need to get tickets to the Boseong Bus Terminal

Approximately 1 hour 40-minute ride

*There is a bus that leaves every 30 minutes

Boseong Bus Terminal to Tea Fields

Take the local bus to Green Tea Plantation – Not sure how often it comes.

The cab ride was 10,000 KRW ($10) from the bus terminal to Daehan Dawon Green Tea Plantation

Travel time – Roughly 15 minutes

Daehan Dawon to Yulpo Beach

Bus stop directly out front of the tea plantation by the road. See time table below.

Cab ride was approximately 7,000 KRW ($7)

[/tab][tab]Tea Fields back to Boseong Bus Terminal

This bus stop is actually the corner of what looked like a car repair shop and restaurant. Do not be fooled by the actual bus stop nearby, we waited here and missed the first bus.

Look for this sign and wait at the corner. We’ve embedded a map below to help you find the general area. There’s also a timetable to make sure you are there on time 😉

This ride is about 20-25 minutes.

 

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