Most of us were told during our childhood that there’s a right way and a wrong way. But in Korea, Villy and I learned there is a third option…the Korean way.

What is the Korean way? Well…I think it’s best to describe this through an anecdote.
Aunt Thim, Villy, and I accompanied Uncle Chuck to a Mint Director Conference in Busan (city located on the southern tip of South Korea). As accompanying guests, we were taken to the governor’s house for traditional tea lessons. Yes…tea lessons! They taught us how to make and serve tea, along with how to bow and drink the tea properly. Don’t be fooled…it’s not as easy as it sounds. One must follow many steps where each step is properly timed. For example, to make tea the traditional way, the following steps must be performed (as a disclaimer, I’m not an expert and do apologize in advance for all the details missed):

1. One must bow and gently lower oneself to the ground (5 count step)
2. One must use a handle to scoop water from nearby bucket to clean the tea cup (2 count step)
3. One must dump the water into another bucket with hands positions in a particular fashion – don’t shake the cup or the instructor will make you repeat the process over again (x count)
4. One must wipe the cup a certain way…wrap the cup with cloth on one side and spin the cup not the cloth (x count)
5. One must place the cup down and then pour – don’t even think about pouring tea into the cup in your hand (again…this is done in x counts)

Ok…so I’m sure you get the point now and I haven’t even told you about the other lessons – bowing, meditating, and the actual drinking tea portion. Basically, this was a 3 hour experience that was not only educational but very entertaining! We took a few pictures of our experience…for your viewing pleasure, please click on the gallery below.
Korea Trip - May 11 to 18