Boryeong Mud Festival has been held at Daecheon beach since 1998 and has become internationally famous. The Boryeong mud is rich in minerals and good for one’s skin. The high quality sea mud is famous enough to make mud cosmetic products such as mud packs, mud soaps, etc. The beach is also famous for its unique, shell powdered sand. I decided to check out this event and went with two fellow co-workers, Ann and Kelly.
Our hotel was perfect. It was about a five minute walk from the festival, included a balcony, and was the main hotel for our tour group. The travel time was about 2 1/2 hours and was a very wet arrival. We chatted with new friends from England over draft beer, while we waited for our hot dogs (from Costco) to cook. Luck was with us and soon the sun came out to greet us.
The festival was like no other! There were giant blow up slides for mud sliding, a mega mud tub, mud wrestling, and a mud prison. The first stop was the mud prison. It was a jail with bars that bent to allow you in. I got in and thought, "gee, this is not very exciting." Before I knew it, I had mud thrown at me from all over. I was covered from the neck down. I couldn't help laughing at how ridiculous this festival was. Next, we went and painted ourselves with mud. There were mud stations with paint brushes attached and mirrors to check out your new self. After a few refreshing drinks in a bag, we headed over to watch the mud wrestling pit.
The pit was made from a circular blow up ring. Inside, there was watery mud and lots of people. I was standing on the side watching, when my friend jumped in and pulled me with her! It was just a big, slippery mess. Everytime you would stand up, I would either get my feet pulled out from under me or get knocked down by a stranger. It reminded me of a giant, circular slip and slide.
Afterwards, we went and watched a musical contest and let the sun bake the mud onto our skin. After we were crusty, we went into the crowd on the beach and were sprayed by a giant water fan. We then rinsed the mud off in the East Sea. It was very refreshing and my skin felt great!
After a Korean bargeque dinner and a change of clothes, we went to watch the fireworks on the beach. The fireworks show was fantastic. They were set off from a boat that was in the water. It was a great way to end the evening.
Monsoon season has come to an end and after about three weeks of coninuous rain, I was overjoyed to wake up to sunshine. I took advantage of the great weather and laid out on the beach. I paid for it though, with an aweful sun burn.
