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Jeju's tea fields are less than fifty years old. OSULLOC says it began cultivating them in 1979 on barren volcanic land, and by 2010 Amorepacific's three Jeju plantations produced about 23 percent of Korea's green tea, according to the Korea JoongAng Daily. The fields are now organic, and the Seogwang plantation sits beside the OSULLOC Tea Museum, opened in 2001.
Most people meet Jeju green tea as a tin or a tea bag. This guide covers the other half: how a rocky island that had no tea industry became one of Korea's best-known tea regions, and what the fields and the museum are today. For the tea itself (grades, brewing and which green tea to buy), read Jeju Green Tea: What Makes It Different.
At Daebak, a Seoul-based Korean culture and product company, we take the history below from OSULLOC's own account and from Korea JoongAng Daily reporting, and we label whose claim each fact is.
A tea country that had lost its tea
Korean tea culture is old. The Korea JoongAng Daily dates it to the Silla Dynasty (668 to 935) and says it declined during Japanese colonial rule (1910 to 1945). By the second half of the twentieth century, coffee and, for a time, black tea had taken over most of the market, and the same paper notes that a scandal over dyed tea leaves pushed many consumers further toward coffee.
Tea farming then grew quickly. The JoongAng Daily reported that Korean tea farms covered seven times more land in 2007 than in 1980, and that annual tea production rose from 105 tons to 19,440 tons over the same period. Amorepacific's Jeju fields are part of that story, and an early part of it.
Jeju's fields: 1979 to 1995
OSULLOC says cultivation began in 1979 and that the brand itself was established in 1980 with its first green teas. The company lists three Jeju farms:
| Farm | What the company says |
|---|---|
| Dolsongi | The first farm, on land the company describes as previously barren (the JoongAng Daily writes the name as Dosun) |
| Seogwang | Begun in 1984 |
| Hannam | Established in 1995 and run with science and technology |
The Korea JoongAng Daily's 2010 report on the Seogwang Dawon plantation adds detail. It says the plantation covers 661,160 square meters on the western side of Jeju, in the Mount Halla region, and was the largest tea plantation in Korea at the time. An Amorepacific official told the paper that the land had been a wasteland for more than 30 years before cultivation. Amorepacific's founder began planning the plantation in the early 1970s, the paper reported, and his own employees reportedly opposed it because it would take over a decade to become profitable. The paper also said he was inspired by Japanese tea gardens and by the green tea he was served on business trips to Japan.
The same report gives the era's scale: Amorepacific's three plantations, Dosun, Seogwang and Hannam, together made up about 5 percent of the land under tea in Korea and produced about 23 percent of the country's green tea harvest. It also notes that a new tea plantation takes at least three to four years before its first harvest, which is why a field planted in 1979 could not be judged for years.
OSULLOC Organic Sejak Green Tea, the brand's signature unblended green tea. See details.
Why Jeju
The JoongAng Daily's explanation is plain: the region's mild climate, high rainfall and fertile soil suit green tea. OSULLOC describes Jeju as a natural setting optimal for growing tea and says its teas come from its own estates in the island's volcanic environment. Both accounts agree on the point that matters for visitors: these are cultivated fields on land that had been left unused, not an old tea landscape like the mainland's.
The switch to organic
The 2010 JoongAng Daily report says that after news reports that some tea producers used pesticides, Amorepacific moved all its tea products to organic farming. It reported that production fell by 40 to 50 percent in the first year of the transition, and that an OSULLOC researcher said total production had dropped about 20 percent since the switch. OSULLOC now says it uses advanced organic farming methods. In April 2023 the JoongAng Daily photographed residents harvesting the first green tea crop of the season on an organically cultivated farm in Seogwipo; that report did not identify the farm's owner.
The tea museum
OSULLOC says it opened its tea museum on Jeju in 2001, surrounded by its tea farms, to share the history and culture of tea. In 2010 the JoongAng Daily reported about 700,000 visitors a year to the plantation and museum, 200,000 of them from overseas; that is a dated figure, so check the museum's own site before planning around crowds. Practical visiting advice (what is there, when to go, how long to allow) is in the OSULLOC Tea Museum visitor guide.
For the tea culture of Korea beyond Jeju, see our Korean tea guide. Our OSULLOC collection lists the teas, which are brand-shipped.
FAQ
When did OSULLOC start growing tea on Jeju?
OSULLOC says cultivation began in 1979 and the brand was established in 1980. Its Seogwang farm followed in 1984 and Hannam in 1995.
Why did Amorepacific grow tea on Jeju?
The Korea JoongAng Daily cites Jeju's mild climate, high rainfall and fertile soil, and reports that the founder was inspired by Japanese tea gardens. Part of the land had been unused wasteland.
Is Jeju the main tea region in Korea?
No. The JoongAng Daily lists Boseong and Gangjin in South Jeolla as other major plantation areas, and in 2010 reported that Amorepacific's three Jeju plantations produced about 23 percent of Korea's green tea.
Can you visit the tea fields?
Yes. OSULLOC's museum sits among its Jeju tea farms; see the visitor guide linked above for practical details.
This guide is part of the OSULLOC hub, which lists every Daebak guide on OSULLOC.
