The esteemed calligrapher Chusa Kim Jeong-hui추사 김정희 was known as an avid tea enthusiast. He was also friends with Venerable Cho-ui초의, a Buddhist monk who introduced tea culture or the Way of Tea to the kingdom of Joseon in the 19th century. Kim used to write letters to the Buddhist monk asking for tea. One of his letters read as follows.

It has been so cold here that even the ink and wine have frozen solid. Monk Hyanghun향훈 promised me some tea earlier, but I haven’t heard from him yet. Please send him my message and I’d be grateful if you could send some tea for me in the spring. By the way, why are you enjoying the newly picked tea leaves by yourself and not sharing it with someone living far away? You deserve 30 lashes. 

The calligrapher must have craved some warm and fragrant tea in the middle of winter and when he found his tea supply running low, he must have hastily sought tea from his friend. The Buddhist monk must have smiled fondly as he packed tea for his friend in exile. This week’s Sounds of Korea features music pieces that go well with tea-drinking. So, why don’t you get yourself a nice cup of tea and relax with this music. First up is Hahyeondodeuri and Yeombuldodeuri played by geomungo artist Lee Se-hwan.  

Hahyeondodeuri & Yeombuldodeuri/ Geomungo by Lee Se-hwan

Joseon-era scholar Seong Hyeon성현 was also a lover of tea and geomungo. One fine spring day, he is said to have written the following poem.

I put tea in a pot filled with boiling water making the sound of falling rain. 

But I must have fallen asleep, with my tired hands cupping my chin.

I was startled awake by the sound of a chirping bird

Only to find the shadows of apricot flowers covering the crudely knit screen. 

Seong Hyeon must have dozed off as he waited for the tea to brew. When he woke up, he found spring flowers abloom outside his window. The poem helps us recall a peaceful spring day. Let’s try to recreate the same atmosphere with “The Garden of Wind” played by piri musician Kim Kyeong-ah.

The Garden of Wind/ Piri by Kim Kyeong-ah

“The Garden of Wind” was taken from the first episode of “Yeongsan Hoesang영산회상,” a Korean court music piece. The sound of running water and a windchime summon the feeling of relaxing in a quiet Buddhist temple. People these days have a wide selection of beverages, from coffee and tea to yogurt drinks, but people in the old days had limited choices. So, tea became Korean people’s favorite beverage. Tea was made by drying fresh tea leaves at a certain temperature. The Korean way of drying tea leaves involved rubbing the tea leaves on a heated pan without any oil or moisture. High quality tea supposedly underwent nine rounds of dry rubbing. What we now call green tea was made by brewing the dried tea leaves and when the tea is fermented, it becomes black tea or pu’er tea. There was also medicinal tea, which was a mixture of medicinal herbs and tea leaves. Venerable Cho-ui wrote a book titled “Dongdasong동다송” about Korea’s tea varieties and tea culture, which says that the best tea is the one that is enjoyed in solitude. Here is a music piece that would go well when you are drinking tea by yourself. This is “Gyeongpungnyeon경풍년” with Shin Joo-hee playing the daegeum.  

Gyeongpungnyeon/ Daegeum by Shin Joo-hee