Enjoy Bosung's Gourmet Food and Heal at Jeamsan Natural Recreation Forest
The 47th Boseong Dahyang Festival, the longest-standing and most traditional tea (cha) festival in South Korea, will be held for five days from May 3 to May 7.
The main venue of the ‘47th Boseong Dahyang Festival,’ the Korea Tea Culture Park, can be reached by following the winding tea fields down towards Hoecheon-myeon from ‘Botjae,’ a resting place named for travelers who carry their bundles and take a short break.
Here, visitors can fully enjoy the terraced tea fields of the Boseong traditional tea agricultural system, registered as a National Important Agricultural Heritage. The Boseong terraced tea fields are renowned for their breathtaking scenery throughout all seasons, having been selected by CNN as one of the 31 most amazing landscapes in the world.
▲ ‘47th Boseong Dahyang Festival’ from May 3
The opening ceremony on the 3rd will feature the △47th Boseong Dahyang Festival, designated by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism for 2024-2025, and the △47th Residents’ Day, a gathering to promote harmony among the county residents.
Alongside these, events will be held one after another, including ▲the 26th Seopyeonje Boseong Sori Festival, leading the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Pansori Renaissance; ▲the 20th Illimsan Azalea Cultural Festival, held in the nation’s largest azalea colony; ▲the 102nd Children’s Day event, enjoyable for children and families; ▲the 2024 Korea Optimist National Yacht Competition, expanding marine leisure activities; ▲the 19th Boseong Green Tea Marathon, running along the green Metasequoia road; ▲daily concerts uniting residents and tourists; and ▲the Boseong Drone Light Show featuring over 500 drones, offering new attractions every day to captivate visitors.
At the welcoming yard set up in Dahyang Art Valley, tourists wearing green clothes or accessories will receive souvenirs through the dress code Green event, and can participate in the green tea stamp wish writing. In the tasting hall and the southern tea fields, visitors can experience the thousand-year history of Boseong tea and traditional tea culture through activities such as tea leaf picking, tea field snapshot photography, and tea field treasure hunts.
At the festival’s main stage on the lawn plaza, tea-related experience programs will be held, including tea culture halls from Boseong County, Hadong County, China, and Japan, traditional tea ceremonies, matcha whisking experiences, tea roasting, and blending tea workshops, making it an ideal place for tea enthusiasts.
▲ Boseong’s pride, Jeamsan Natural Recreation Forest
If you visit Boseong, there is another must-see spot. For those who enjoy mountains and trekking, Jeamsan Natural Recreation Forest is recommended. Selected four times consecutively as an excellent wellness tourism destination, Jeamsan Natural Recreation Forest features ‘The Neum-gil,’ a barrier-free porch trail 5.8 km long, where even those with mobility challenges can enjoy forest bathing using wheelchairs or strollers.
Forest bathing in the clear and pristine Jeamsan offers vibrant green energy to city dwellers tired of the gray urban environment. Spending a night in the phytoncide-rich forest allows you to wake up feeling refreshed the next day.
Known as the ‘play forest,’ Jeamsan Natural Recreation Forest offers various ways to enjoy the woods. Visitors can actively enjoy the forest with eco-adventure facilities, a thrilling dedicated zipline, and a 243-meter-long bear sled ride.
Within Jeamsan Natural Recreation Forest, the Jeonnam Environmental Disease Prevention and Management Center provides psychological support programs including mental health screening and counseling, basic health checkups, horticultural therapy, Jeamsan forest experiences, green tea foot baths, and mental health promotion education.
▲ Boseong’s hot spots: Yulpo Pine Beach and Yulpo Sea Water Green Tea Center
Yulpo Pine Beach, with its beautiful silver sand and lush green pine trees, boasts a clean sandy beach maintained through frequent facility inspections and disinfection activities, making it a popular barefoot walking spot.
Walking along the left side of the sandy beach facing the sea, you will find a finger heart-shaped sculpture, popular on social media (SNS) as a perfect spot for memorable photos. Depending on the time of day, the colors of the sea and sky change, allowing you to capture your own special photos tinted in sky blue, pink, orange, and more.
Adjacent to Yulpo Pine Beach, the Yulpo Sea Water Green Tea Center is a comprehensive healing center using seawater and green tea. It has been recommended as a travel destination by Jeollanam-do and introduced as a spa attraction by the Korea Tourism Organization.
The first floor houses exhibition spaces for local artists, specialty product shops, and a caf?. The second floor contains separate male and female bathhouses, and the third floor features spa facilities including an outdoor open-air bath.
Especially on the third floor, the outdoor open-air bath includes not only hot baths but also foot baths and infant baths, where families can sit together, enjoy the open view of Yulpo Beach, and relax while chatting.
▲ Rediscovering lost appetites with the flavors of Boseong
One of the most anticipated aspects of traveling in the southern region is the food. Boseong, blessed with mountains, sea, and fields, is a land of abundance with seasonal agricultural and marine specialties throughout the year. Food lovers come to Boseong each season to enjoy gourmet trips.
When the cold wind blows, Beolgyo cockles are in demand, but in spring, fragrant and briny clams are in season. The clam hoe-muchim (spicy raw clam salad) that many people can share, and the soup made with plump clams, are exquisite.
Set meals in Boseong use fresh local specialties such as green pork, cockles, sea cucumbers, pen shells, and octopus. Many places serve green tea water instead of plain water. For those seeking a healthy meal, green tea-accompanied Korean set meals are highly recommended.
Additionally, in Boseong, you can enjoy various seasonal dishes unique to the area, such as fresh mud octopus and webfoot octopus caught in the clean Deukryang Bay, tangy and sweet seasoned flatfish hoe-muchim, delicious green tea tteokgalbi (grilled short rib patties), and green tea-fed pork called ‘Nokdon,’ known for its exceptional texture.
Boseong = Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Park Cheon-seok hss79@asiae.co.kr
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