Last weekend, my boyfriend and I went to the Boseong, an area about 5 hours south of Seoul where they grow green tea plants. We went for two reasons: first, the tea fields are a famous part of this province (and one I wanted to see before leaving Korea in August), and second, they were having a light festival from December – January. As a child, I looked forward to bundling up and seeing the annual Columbus zoo lights with my family and neighbors, so this was a perfect opportunity to have a similar experience and forget winter for a bit.
Boseong itself is a tiny town compared to the rest of South Korea and although we stayed in the town the first night, a rooster woke us up bright and early!
On Saturday, we moved to our pension outside of the town. We felt lucky to get this pension, since it was within walking distance of two major tea fields. However, we soon found out that the location was the only good part – the big window was drafty, and the room was not clean. It was more expensive than the place we stayed in town.
But, we made the best of it. In the afternoon, we went to the most well-known tea field, and in the evening, we walked down to the light show, which we could see from our pension!
Walking into the tea field
Walking up to the top
The View
Taking a break with a green tea latte and green tea ice cream - both are delicious!
Day View from the Pension
Night View from the Pension
Korea may have hearts everywhere, but I thought this was clever; the picture before is in the middle of the heart.
Where people could sit and take pictures together. Families were lining up to do this!
The entrance
People's wish cards for the new year
Dragon's head
Dragon's tail
) The food and company were great, and as our friend Andy said, “We did well (with making the food). Does this mean we’re real adults now?” Naomi made mulled wine (yum) and I made egg nog. We even had a secret santa where none of us correctly guessed who bought our gifts.
