Boryeong Mud Festival

Stephanie and I were both saying that we haven't had this much fun in South Korea in a long time. To make matters better we were expecting it to be pretty stupid. We both passed on the event last summer. Jumping around in mud and wrestling US Army guys is just something I've grown out of.

The Boryeong Mud Festival is a yearly event in the coastal city that boasts a healthy, vitamin enriched mud. Originally, locals would come both near and far to rub the mud on their skin and thus be beautiful. Visiting teachers and other foreigners have since caught on and Boryeong has seized the opportunity for huge tourism dollars. They have since added a good music lineup (by Korean standards) of foreign artists. Akon and Infected Mushroom headlined this years event. As well as a side stage on the beach with local acts from across the country. All of this is not to overshadow the main draw to the festival. 


Mud Plaza is set up right along the beach, as old men and women carry buckets of mud to a number of troughs. Surrounding the troughs is a theme park of inflatable slides, bouncy rooms, and tunnels to highlight the muddy experience. We skipped the theme park because the lines were pretty long and just covered ourselves from hair to butt crack to toenail in mud. It was way more fun than I thought and I didn't have to get beat into submission by Private 1st Class Peter Chinchetta. 


For me though, the best part was the weather. After two and a half weeks of constant cloudy skies and monsoon rains we had a picture perfect weekend at the beach. The town itself reminded me of Jersey shore towns with the souvenir shops and restaurants dotted along the beach. One of the bands played some covers that would've made me do a double take for Mr. Green Genes. The ocean was unbelievably warm and everyone in the crowd was having a good and non-obnoxious time. Korea best!

Boryeong Mud Festival, check