Hadong Wild Tea Fields

The record says tea seeds from Tang China were planted below Ssanggyesa in 828, which makes the Hwagae valley the oldest tea ground in Korea, and it is farmed differently from Boseong. There are no engineered terraces: the bushes grow in irregular plots among rocks and trees on steep slopes, many of them seed-grown rather than cloned, some very old, and much of it is picked by hand in small quantities. That is why Hadong tea is expensive and why it is graded by picking date - ujeon, picked before the spring rains around 20 April, is the top grade and the smallest quantity. The valley has a tea museum, a number of small producers who receive visitors for tasting, and Ssanggyesa at the head of it. The landscape is less photogenic than Boseong's green stripes, which is precisely the difference: this looks like woodland, because it more or less is.

What you actually see

• The wild plots - bushes among rocks and trees, not terraced.
• The grading by date - ujeon picked before the spring rains.
• The small producers - family operations receiving visitors for tasting.
• The valley - Hwagae, running up to Ssanggyesa.

When to go

Late April to May for the first picking, which is when the valley is working and tastings are best. The cherry road up the valley flowers in early April and is separately famous.

Honest expectations

There are no photogenic terraces here - visitors expecting Boseong are disappointed. Producers are small and often need calling ahead. Top-grade tea is genuinely expensive.

Nearby

Ssanggyesa is at the head of the valley; Hwagae market and the Seomjin river are below.