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| This undated photo shows the 2019 Myung Won World Tea Expo held at COEX in southern Seoul last August. The 2020 edition of the expo runs through Sunday at COEX. Courtesy of Myung Won Cultural Foundation |
By Kwon Mee-yoo
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| Kim Eui-jung, Myung Won Cultural Foundation director / Courtesy of Myung Won Cultural Foundation |
The event, hosted by the Myung Won Cultural Foundation for 25 years, offers a variety of Korean and overseas tea brands and opportunities to experience Korea's traditional tea.
This year's festival also commemorates the 100th birthday of the late Kim Mi-hee, founder of the Myung Won Cultural Foundation and wife of Ssangyong Group founder Kim Sung-gon.
Kim blazed the trail in restoring Korea's traditional tea culture from the 1970s. In 1979, she held the first academic conference on Korea's traditional tea and held a presentation on traditional tea ceremonies in 1980. Kim was awarded with the Bogwan Order of Culture Merit posthumously in 2000 in recognition of her work.
At the festival, visitors can trace Kim's life-long dedication to tea culture through a special photo exhibition.
Her daughter Kim Eui-jung currently serves as director of the foundation and son Kim Seok-joon is CEO of Ssangyong Engineering and Construction.
Eui-jung succeeded her mother's passion and launched the foundation to revive and promote Korea's tea culture. Eui-jung currently holds Seoul's Intangible Cultural Heritage No. 27 for royal tea ceremony.
At the event, visitors can sample a wide range of teas from 10 countries as well as major tea-producing regions in Korea such as Boseong, Hadong and Jangheung.
The festival recognizes the best tea in Korea and those who contributed to the development of tea culture in Korea through various awards such as the K-Tea Blending Competition, featuring a variety of blends of Korean tea, herbs and flowers, on Sunday.
Visitors can also enjoy a royal tea ceremony and take part in traditional tea serving events.
At the World Tea Forum, tea sommelier Kim Jin-pyeong, Kookmin University professor Yoo Yang-seok and Sharyn Johnston of Australian Tea Masters will give lectures on tea trends and international tea brands. The forum is available for those who pre-registered.
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