Seogwang Tea Garden (서광차밭)

Introduction

Seogwang Tea Garden, located in Seogwipo-si, Jeju, is known as the most well managed and largest tea plantation in Korea. Here, the tea leaves receive just the right amount of sun for it to be made into the highest quality product. Occupying an area 528,928m², the green field is spread out across the slopes of Seogwangseo-ri, attracting many visitors to the site.
The fields didn't use to be this green though; the ground was rocky and the soil composition wasn't fertile enough for plants to survive. Seogwang Tea Garden's transformation from a barren land to a lush green plantation became a good example of successful agriculture in the mountain areas.
The garden was also where Kim Jeong-hui (pen name Chusa), one of the most celebrated practitioners of calligraphy in the Joseon dynasty, spent his life of exile growing tea plants.