Boryeong Mud Festival: Here's mud in your eye

There really isn’t much to say for this event that you can’t already imagine: Just a bunch of people getting down and dirty, writhing around in a whole lot of mud. Why? Because it’s FUN, dammit. When you were a kid, did you ever see a bunch of mud after a rain storm and get a sudden urge to take a running slide into it, head first? But that ol’ kill-joy Mom wouldn’t allow it? Just think of what it would do to your school pants! Well, chances are, Mom isn’t in Boryeong and you have long outgrown your school pants, so get in there and wallow!



The Boryeong Mud Festival is a week-long event that takes place every July in the little town of Boryeong, South Korea, about 140 km (87 mi.) south of Seoul. Boryeong is commonly called Daecheon because that is where beautiful Daecheon Beach is located on the Western (or Yellow) Sea. You can get there from Seoul by bus or by train on the Gyeongbu Line. Which bus? Here is a helpful tip for any foreigner in Korea, if you don’t know it already: Just dial 1330 on your cell phone and ask! And that goes for anything – buses, subways, restaurant locations, movie times…

What was I talking about? Ah, yes – the Mud Festival! It’s a lot of fun. What’s that? Rolling around in big pools of mud with a bunch of strangers aggravates your OCD? Well, consider this: The mud of Boryeong is famous for having wonderfully therapeutic properties. Cosmetics have been produced that use the mud due to its high mineral content. It also contains bentonite, an absorbent aluminum phyllosilicate, and Germanium, a grayish-white metalloid. What does that mean? I have no idea, but it sure is fun to slide around in. The mud is moved from the Boryeong Flats by truck and dumped on Daecheon Beach every year just for this event. There are slides, pools, and various wallows, along with body-painting (using multi-colored mud), volley ball, mud-skiing… well, pretty much anything you can imagine you could do in a big pile of mud. And when you have had your fill of the muddy goodness, just take a stroll into the cleansing surf to wash away every trace of it.



The mud itself is recognizable due to its unique grayish color (must be that Germanium) and when it dries all over your body, well, you just look freaky and it makes for a great Facebook profile picture. Put on a pair of wrap-around shades and you could abduct people in your spaceship – if you are one of the fortunate ones to have a spaceship. Keep in mind, pretty much anything goes at Boryeong, but probing is a no-no, so keep those muddy hands to yourself, or you’ll be put in the mud prison (yes, they have one, but it is purely for amusement purposes). All the while, you can enjoy live music from the stage, which hosts a line-up of bands from Seoul and other places.

The Boryeong Mud Festival – the name says it all. And in case you are more of a visual learner, check out the video from the IDC Crew down below. Mud, mud, mud, mud, mud. What more can I say? Enjoy it. It’s a good time that is good for your skin. And Mom never has to find out.

 

Focus: Boryeong Mud Festival (Korea on the Edge)

[embed]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_qTSuLpl8g[/embed]

A popular attraction in the summer months following the rainy season, the Boryeong Mud Festival has been a yearly tradition since 1998. If you want to attend this incredibly filthy-fun event, don't let the name fool you. The mud is taken from the Boryeong Mud Flats and transported to Daecheon beach, where celebrants roll, dance, slide, sling, and frolic in the therapeutic beauty-enhancing mineral-rich muds. The reputation for the mud's therapeutic effects started in 1996 when cosmetics made from the mud were marketed as being full of minerals that occur naturally in the mud at Boryeong. And then someone got the great idea, "Wouldn't it be nice if we could just roll around in this stuff?" And a legend was born. Now the festival includes all sorts of fun mud-based activities, from mud fights to colored-mud body painting to mudslides and mud- Well, you get the idea: Mud, mud, mud. And when you've had enough, you can just jump into the nearby surf for a quick wash and you're ready to head back to your normal life as a non-mud creature. The festival usually occurs over a two-week period, but the climactic finale is usually held on the second weekend of July and it is a huge draw for the Korean expat population. There are usually several groups of people heading into the Daecheon region at this time, so hitching a ride should be no problem. Or you can just catch a bus at Seoul Express Bus Terminal, or take a direct bus from Incheon to Daecheon Beach. If you want to see more check out the official website. mud's therapeutic effects started in 1996 when cosmetics made from the mud were marketed as being full of minerals that occur naturally in the mud at Boryeong. And then someone got the great idea, "Wouldn't it be nice if we could just roll around in this stuff?" And a legend was born. Now the festival includes all sorts of fun mud-based activities, from mud fights to colored-mud body painting to mudslides and mud ? well, you get the idea: Mud, mud, mud. And when you've had enough, you can just jump into the nearby surf for a quick wash and you're ready to head back to your normal life as a non-mud creature. The festival usually occurs over a two-week period, but the climactic finale is usually held on the second weekend of July and it is a huge draw for the Korean expat population. There are usually several groups of people heading into the Daecheon region at this time, so hitching a ride should be no problem. Or you can just catch a bus at Seoul Express Bus Terminal, or take a direct bus from Incheon to Daecheon Beach.

There will be mud! The Pop-culture quizz

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVnkDkYP9jE

Join Kris as he walks around and asks foreigners living in Korea what they know about Korean culture. If they get the question right, they get a fresh cold beer but if they get it wrong...