Messy Behavior- The Boryeong Mud Festival!

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Mud Festival!!?? What is that all about?? You mean they are going to ship in liters upon liters of mud to a Korean beach for a big dirty party?? Sounds like a once in a lifetime opportunity! Without hesitation I knew I had to venture out of Seoul for the first time to Boryeong to check out this festival that so many people were raving about.

After taking a three hour train ride and having an interesting conversation with a Filipino guy about his take on life in Korea, I made it to the quaint beach town of 100,000. As I boarded the bus and got closer and closer to the beach, people were all painted a dull shade of grey from all the madness I was about to witness. Boryeoung's cosmetic mud is said to have skin healing properties but all I cared about was getting dirty!!

I met up with some friends and it was pure chaos after jumping into a huge mud wrestling pit with about 30 people in it. I took about two steps and PLOP I fell to my arse- who knew mud could be so slippery? So for the next hour or so everyone in the pit took turns hurling mud at each other and throwing each other to the ground to make sure no crevice of anyone's body was not grey. Dirty fun!!

Boryeoung sees about 2 million visitors over the week long duration of the mud festival. This was one of the most crowded beaches I have ever seen as Korea's latest pop acts performed each night and there were mud slides, mud pools, one on one wrestling rings, mud obstacle courses, mud buckets with mud paint brushes. All of these activities could be found on the roadway approaching Boryeoung Beach and on the sandy shore.

We also got to enjoy some of the best tasting clams (and largest) ever from the many hoi jips (seafood houses) located along the beachfront (see pics). After polishing off buckets of clams we decided to call it a weekend and head back to Seoul.

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Comments

[chuck stuart]

Dirty Boy!
Hello George, Wonderful story about the mud weekend. Somehow I have failed to see recent additions to your blog. Do I remember that you're teaching English in Seoul? Do you need to know the Korean language in order to do it? I would think that maybe it's more effective if you don't, for everything would have to be in English, forcing the learning. When will you ever come home? I'd like to visit with you. I continue living in a big house, so a visit for you would be cheap. What do you know about your brother? While at your grandmother's funeral in December, I attempted to communicate with him, and he didn't want to talk to me. That was a loss for both of us. I question whether he's in a good space, and I don't judge. And how are you doing with life in general? Hope to hear from you. Chuck Stuart (your great uncle)

[Michael]

What a Mud!!!!!!
Oh My God, can't discribe this event, each time i look at the photos; i ust burts into laughter...hahahhahaha Demmm...what a mud..