Korean folk songs on tea were collected from 1956 to 1961. Some his-toric places related to tea culture, wild tea growing districts, Buddhist temple areas, and places with tea-related names were came into the spotlight of survey. The collected folk songs were edited and examined. (1) 8 folk songs on tea were collected in Kyungnam Province: 2 of them from a woman living near Chajangam Hermitage of Tongdosa Tem-ple in Yangsan County; another 2 songs from Mr. Baek, 76 years old, liv-ing at Bumwangri village below Ch'ilbulam Hermitage, Hwagae Township, Hadong County; 3 songs from Exorcist Kim, 78 years old, living near Hwagae Market, Hadong County; and the other one song from Mr. Lee, 78 years old, living at Ch'amsaemi Valley, Dach'ulri village, Kimgae City. (2) In Chunnam Province, only one tea song was collected from a 76-year-old farmer living near Ssangbongsa Temple, Hwasoon County. So from the two provinces, 9 songs were collected. (3) Those who can recite tea songs are usually above 76 years old. Tea songs have been transmitted orally in such areas as tea-cultivating villages, temple areas, wild tea growing places, and the places with manes connected with tea. And in such areas, the tea is usually called as Chaksul(sparrow's tongue), rather than Nokcha(green tea). The contents of the 9 songs are in general about some temple ceremo-nies, traditional formalities, cherishing some great men's memories, and praying for a family's happiness. The songs inform us of some tradition-al bliss-asking customs. So they are considered to be valuable data for studying the history of Korean tea culture and literature.
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