green tea.
green tea-flavored hard tack biscuits.
green tea-fed pork.
green tea ice cream.
green tea-infused water.
green tea noodle jajangmyeon.
green tea noodle mul-nangmyeon.
green tea rice bibimbap.
green tea bath at the sauna.

and lots of pictures of mid-air jumps in, of course,

green tea fields.

i don’t think it’s really appropriate to call the cascades of boseong’s green tea “fields,” as they’re actually entire mountainsides of green tea hedgerows.

but let’s back up. it all started with a little dwenjang-jigae down by the bus terminal.

then off to the pension on top of a very steep hill, where the owner grew every kind of flower you can think of and there were actually bugs and animals and the smell of something that isn’t ramyan or sewage.

the first day took us just over the mountain from the real green tea action, and we were kind of afriad we’d missed all the fun, what with all the bushes being cropped.

but this fella was weeding the place.

and he was generous enough to let me take his portrait.

plus, we got to tromp disrespectfully around some graves.

then, to the bus! — which was green by the way — down to the beach, where either the tide was way out or the apocalypse was descending a little ahead of schedule.

abandoned ships and barnacle-encrusted things abounded.


basically, the whole place looked like the inspiration for the closing scenes of cormac mccarthy’s the road. plus, then it rained. but exploring was a blast. all the verdant richness of the actual green tea slopes will have to wait, though, as i’m late for a check-up on the new tattoo — photos forthcoming when it’s all touched up and finished.