8. Wild Tea Experience Center at Seonamsa Temple


[Man]

At Seonamsa Temple in Suncheon, there is the Suncheon Traditional Wild Tea Experience Center where visitors can taste wild tea. The tea plantation at Seonamsa Temple, spread over 33,000 square meters, offers another attraction.



[Woman]

Tea has been cultivated in Korea since the reign of Queen Seondeok during the Silla dynasty. Tea started to flourish in 828 A.D., the third year of King Heungdeok’s reign, after Daeryeom brought tea seeds from the Tang Dynasty and planted them on Jirisan Mountain under royal command. Since then, the Yeongnam and Honam regions around Jirisan Mountain has served as the essence of Korean tea.



[Man]

During the Unified Silla period, some monks and Hwarangdo members drank tea. There is a story that Sabok offered tea to Wonhyo, and records illustrating that Chungdam, a Buddhist monk during the reign of King Gyeongdeok, offered tea to Maitreya Buddha of Samhwaryeong Pass on March 3 and September 9 each year.



[Courtier]

“I don't understand why His Majesty ordered us to bring a monk on the third day of March all of sudden. Where would I even to find a monk? Do I have to go to a temple? What should I do... Huh? Wait a moment. “Sir! sir!”



[Monk Chungdam]

“May the Buddha guide you. Why are you stopping me?”


[Courtier]

“Since it’s the third day of March, I have been ordered to bring in a monk. Please follow me to the palace. It is urgent.”


[Monk Chungdam]

“But I…”



[Courtier]

“It won’t take long. Please! Come with me. I have brought a monk as you commanded, your Highness.”



[Monk Chungdam]

“I am Chungdam. Your Highness."



[King Gyeongdeok]

“Where were you headed to?”


[Monk Chungdam]

“I make offerings to the Maitreya in Samhwaryeong Pass on March 3 and September 9 every year. I was on my way back after offering tea over there.”


[King Gyeongdeok]

"Is that so? Can I have a taste of the tea that was offered to the Maitreya?"


[Monk Chungdam]

“It will be ready soon. Your Highness."


[King Gyeongdeok]

“The tea is indeed very fragrant. It tastes good too. The Maitreya must have liked it very much.”


[Woman]

The reason why Buddhist monks and Hwarangdo members in this era drank tea was because tea had an effect that cleared the mind, which was closely related to meditation.


[Man]

During the Goryeo Dynasty, tea culture became more widespread as tea gained popularity in royal and aristocratic temples. Tea was also used as an important gift in international diplomacy. Yongbong tea was imcluded in gifts for the Song Dynasty, and the Goryeo dynasty used to send NoewonTea to the Khitan people.


[Woman]

Some view that the tea culture, which had a deep connection with Buddhism, declined in the Joseon Dynasty. This is because tea was not as popular as it was during the Goryeo Dynasty. However, even during this era, tea parties were held in the royal family, and the tradition of tea ceremony continued at temples.


[Man]

The tea ceremony can be defined as training one’s mind and body through various tea events related to drinking tea. Tea first appeared as a type of beverage or medicine, but as it slowly changed into a type of preferential food, it was connected with hobbies, and it developed into a tea ceremony again in relation to the ways of daily lives.


[Woman]

The Wild Tea Experience Center at Seonamsa Temple offers its visitors to taste handmade tea prepared by picking leaves from wild tea trees around the temple, and steaming and drying the leaves nine times each according to traditional methods. The place also offers you to learn how to make tea with tea leaves, to tasting, tea ceremony practice, and tea-drinking manners. You can also take a tour of the Wild Tea Exhibition Hall, where the history and types of tea, manufacturing process, and efficacy are displayed in an easy-to-understand manner.

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