Tea Tour Korea 2013 Update

It is hard to describe in words how excited we are about Tea Tour Korea 2013.  If you are on this tour, you will not only be visiting with some of the most important artisan tea producers in three of Korea's most important tea producing regions but also will be visiting with some of the most interesting and important teaware artists and tea masters in Korea.  You will witness the prestigious Mungyeong Teabowl Festival and the exciting and spiritual Lotus Lantern Festival.  You will be in Korea during the 'pick' so you will have the first choice of the freshest teas.  You will experience the beautiful Korean tea ceremony presented by one of Korea's most renown tea masters, discuss Korea's tea history with Brother Anthony co-author of both The Korean Way of Tea and Korean Tea Classics - the two most important books on Korean tea. (Bring your copies and have them signed).  Among the teaware artists we will visit are 3 Human Intangible Cultural Treasures.  The tea artisans include artisans who often makes tea with Hong Kyeong Hee the other co-author of The Korean Way of Tea and Korean Tea Classics.  (Steven Owyoung is the third co-author of Korean Tea Classics.)  One of the tea masters we hope to meet is Park Dong Chun the only 'direct descendent' to Cho Ui's way of making nokcha.  It is an unusual processing method we are hoping to witness. In other words you will be meeting artists, artisans and tea historians who are among the most respected in their fields in Korea.  This is truly a unique Korean tea tour.             

Following is the 2013 Tentative Itinerary:

April 28:  The group will meet at our hotel.  The hotel information and time will be sent to tour participants.
After meeting together, Brother Anthony will discuss with the group the history of Korean tea and begin to lay the foundation for our journey.  Brother Anthony is co-author of both The Korean Way of Tea and Korean Tea Classics, the two most important books in English on Korean tea.
Following brother Anthony's discussion, we will visit the  Panyaro Institute for the Korean Way of Tea and meet with the Director the renowned tea master Chae Won-hwa.  Chae Won-hwa is arguably the most respected tea master in Korea.  Will we experience ‘Chaseon’ - Seon (Zen) Tea? 

This experience is like being a living part of the history of Korean tea itself.  We are honored and humbled that both Brother Anthony and the great tea master Chae Won-hwa have agreed to meet with us.  

April 29:   

The group will visit selected teashops and galleries in Insadong to become acquainted with Korean tea and teaware before we board the bus to travel to the Yeoju/Icheon areas to visit some wonderful teaware masters.  You are not in tea country yet, so we begin our adventure with teaware.

April 30: Starting the day early, we will visit with several wonderful teaware masters and the world ceramic galleries in Icheon and Yeoju. 

May 01: We will visit the Mungyeong Teabowl Festival. This may be the most interesting Teabowl Festival in the world.  Two days is hardly enough to experience these teaware artists, visit with artisan tea producers and absorb all that this festival has to offer.

May 02: We continue your visit to the Mungyeong Teabowl Festival and experience some planned private meetings with select teaware masters.  In the late afternoon you will travel to Daegu where we will experience a wonderful tea ceremony conducted by 선생 Oh Young Hwan one of Korea's premier tea masters.

May 03: The early morning will find us at the Seokguram Grotto.  Many travelers call this their 'favorite place in Korea' for the spiritual power emanating from this amazing grotto.  Then we visit Bulguksa, also a UNESCO World Heritage temple and companion temple to Seokguram.  

Nearby is the home and studio of ICA (Intangible Cultural Asset) Park Byung Teak known for his Silla Dynasty style work.  His tea ware is very exciting.  The Day ends with a visit to the national Museum of Gyeongju.  It was during the Silla Dynasty that tea was introduced to Korea.
We are in 'Buddha Land' and Buddhism lies at the heart of Tea.  It has been said that 'Tea and Zen are one' (Post). 

May 04: In the early morning you will visit Park Jong Il tea ware master (and artisan tea producer).  This is at Park Jong Il's studio high in the mountains above Gyeongju.  This is an important stop since he will be joining us for our trip to Jirisan the 'holy mountain' of Korean tea and will act as an extra guide during our tea experiences in Jirisan.

In the afternoon we travel to Sancheon our entrance to Jerisan the holy mountain for Korean teas.  There we will meet with Min Young Ki. Min Young Ki is one of Korea's most prestigious teabowl artists.  One of Japan's most prestigious teabowl connoisseurs said of Min's work, "I personally have never seen a tea bowl that exceeds the quality of Mr. Min's.."  Before we leave Sancheon we will meet Jeong Jae Yeun the artisan tea producer who makes our delicious Hwangcha.  

May 05:  Here is where the tea part of the tour gets interesting. By very special arrangement, in the early morning we move to the humble tea compound of Kim Sung Tae not far away.  There we will pick leaves and process them in both the Korean and Chinese ways for green tea and make hwangcha and ttok-cha as well.  Kim Sung Tae is a premiere tea master’s teacher and has many followers who study with him both in Seoul and also in Busan.  Several tea artists also study with him.  He is probably Korea’s leading authority on Chinese teas as well.  I know that he is planning a museum to house his collection of more than 25,000 tea ware pieces that date from ancient times to the present.  That is just part of his vast ceramic collection. We will be with Kim Sung Tae and his student, the tea ware artist and tea master, Park Jong Il, our tea guide, May 5 and part of May 6.  Park Jong Il will remain with us until May 7.

May 06: After finishing our self-made teas, we travel to Hwagae Valley the home of many artisan tea producers.  Having just processed tea leaves ourselves, I am sure we will appreciate the work they do even more.  We will be meeting with some of the best artisan producers in Hwagae Valley.  It is also the home of the Dong Cheon Tea company a very special tea cooperative that regularly produces some of the best teas produced in Korea.  Morning Crane Tea is proud to be their international representative.  Tea masters have told us we made the best choice.  We will visit this excellent company, but this day is mostly about artisan tea producers and a tea temple or two.

May 07: We continue to visit tea producers and the Hadong Tea Museum.  Later in the afternoon we move to the Bosong area on our way to Gangjin.  We hope to visit an artisan tea producer and perhaps the Bosong Tea Museum on our way to the Gangjin area.  

May 08: The Bosong / Gangjin areas have many tea artisans and teaware artists.  Gangjin is also the home of the most important celadon produced in Korea.  It was also the historic home of the great Korean tea master Cho Ui (Korea's Sen Rikyu) so our stay in the Gangjin area will be filled with the history of tea, exceptional tea artisans as well as some amazing teaware.  In addition to our visit to the historic Gangjin Celadon Complex, we hope to meet the teabowl master Myeong Jae Hyun, the celadon master Jung Ki Bong, the female celadon master Kim Yu-sung and visit the new ceramic center now associated with Morning Crane Tea.  Both Jung Ki Bong and Kim Yu-sung have won the prestegious Grand Prize at the Gangjin Celadon Festival in competition with all celadon artists throughout Korea.    There you may even try your hand at forming a teabowl on a traditional Korean kick wheel. 

May 09: You can't leave Korea without experiencing onggi and its production.  Lee Hak Soo, a cultural treasure, is also one of only a few onggi masters who make teaware.  In Bosong we will visit tea artisans and the most famous tea fields in Korea.  Should we hope to visit the O'Sulloc tea plant before we leave Gangjin?

May 10: We leave Gangin early in the morning.  Beginning with visiting a teaware master or artisan tea producer and travel on to Damyang, Korea's best known bamboo area, to explore their museum and to find bamboo tea implements.  Watch this post to learn more about who we will be visiting in the morning.  We have several very interesting options we want to  explore.  That evening we arrive in Seoul.

May 11: This day is dedicated to visiting some select tea and teaware shops as a group in the morning and free time for you to explore the Lotus Lantern Festival in the afternoon and their breathtaking parade in the evening.  It is a rare treat to be in Korea during this spectacular festival.  For the first time in many years it is on a Saturday.

May 12: Within walking distance of our hotel are beautiful and historic palaces, a great Korean Folk Museum and many galleries and shops of many kinds.  This is a day to explore these under our guidance, our suggestions or alone.  We may top the tour off with an evening of Korean Music and Dance.  

May 13: This day is simply a day to say farewell or continue your journey.  We have nothing formally scheduled.

We at Morning Crane Tea are looking forward to a great adventure with you into the heart of both Korean tea and Korean teaware.  When you are involved in one of our tours (designed by Morning Earth Korea), you will have experiences that truly touch the heart of Korean arts and culture.  This year is very unusual and fortunate because you will experience both the Mungyeong Teabowl Festival and the Lotus Lantern Festival.  Since the Lotus Lantern Festival dates are determined by the lunar calendar, it is rare that we can offer this exceptional festival combination. 

For those of you not joining us, please join us here on this site as we continue to discuss our tour before, during and after what promises to be a great tea adventure.

Please also contact us if you would like to try some the special Dong Cheon Teas we offer or the artisan teas we hope to bring back.  Is there an interest in pre-purchasing some artisan teas or registering to be on a possible Tea Tour Korea in 2014?  There is no obligation to register if you are among the first 8 it simply reserves your spot until you decide.  Let us know here.

  

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