Exactly as the name implies...a Festival of Mud!!
First, a bit of information. Korea's annual mudfest is held in Boryeong (보령), a city on the west coast of Korea near Deajeon. The mud in the area is supposed to have special properties that are really great for the skin due to the minerals and fragments of shells. From what I can gather the mud is special because of higher Germanium, Mineral and Bentonite contents that absorb and remove oil and make the skin and hair softer and cleaner.
This mud is dug up once a year and moved to Daecheon Beach for locals and foreigners all over the country to play in. The festival includes: mud painting, mud wrestling, mud slides, mud obstacle courses, mud massages, mud mosh pit, a mud jail, and much more!
Now about my personal experience with mudfest. It was awesome! ^_^ While most people go with a package tour that includes transportation and accommodation, my friends and I decided to do it on our own. We rented a van for 300,000 Won. We all paid 50,000 for the van, and among 10 of us that was able to cover the cost of the van and gas. The journey wasn't too bad. We left just after midnight on friday, and after getting lost for a bit, arrived at the beach around 6am. We all took a nap in the van then started looking for a place to stay. The first few places we checked were booked, but it didn't take us long to find the Bon Gaya Hotel, in which we got a room for 250,000 won for all 8 of us (2 stayed elsewhere with friends). Not a bad deal. It was a nice hotel, a bedroom with separate living room/kitchen area and a nice big bathroom. They had plenty of blankets and pillows so sleeping on the floor wasn't too bad. After checking in we went to the beach for the start of the festival at 10 am.
Unfortunately, the weather wasn't ideal. It was windy and rainy and a bit cold, but that didn't stop us. We walked along the beach for about 5 minutes and found the main mudfest area. Luckily, not many people were out for the start of the events in the dreary weather. That meant no lines ^_^ The set up was a bunch of blow up jumpers, slides, obstacle courses, wrestling pools, etc covered in mud. We went down a mudslide, which I think was my favorite (and I have to admit, the thing I was most looking forward to!). The mud jail was a small room with plastic, bendable bars. You stand inside and the workers spray you with a hose of mud or throw mud at you. Be sure to cover your eyes! The mud wrestling pit was also a good time. A bunch of people in a shallow pool of mud throwing each other around and just having a fun time! Also got to spend some time on the beach, there was a stage set up with live music, and a color mud body/face painting area.
But of course, all is fun and games until someone gets hurt. James, Felisa, Harry, and I raced each other in a mud obstacle course. Harry, in the lead, slipped and fell and injured his ankle. The three of us behind him, we stopped, helped him up, and within seconds his ankle was swollen to a size a bit larger than a baseball. The first aid workers called an ambulance and he and James went to the hospital. Felisa and I ran back to the hotel to get Harry's wallet and our stuff then got a taxi out to the hospital. It was quite a ways away. The first aid person had said it was just right down the road, but it was about a 20 minute taxi ride! Once we finally got there, the doctor had taken x-rays and said it probably wasn't broken, put a cast on it, gave him some meds, and told him to go to the hospital when we got back to Gyeongju. While it's nice to know that Boryeong covers accidents that happen at mudfest, the service provided isn't the best. The ambulance took us back to the hotel, we got Harry set up and went back out on our own. There were fireworks and live concerts by famous Korean bands (Super Junior, and I don't remember who else). Later we just went back to the hotel room, watched Taken, and eventually all fell asleep.
Sunday morning we attempted to find the Mud Flats where more mud events were taking place. We asked the information booth and they told us to walk down the road for 10 mintues. But that just led us to the place we already were. We had no luck getting any information on where to find the other events, something to leave for next year I guess. We spent the morning and early afternoon around the beach and mud wrestling. Luckily, Sunday was a bright and sunny day, perfect for just hanging around the beach. Around 2 we packed up, checked out, and started our drive back to Gyeongju, we arrived close to 7.
Though the trip has it's ups and downs (that is bound to happen with 8 friends on a weekend roadtrip), it was a great time with great friends!
Here is the official website of Boryeong Mudfest http://www.mudfestival.or.kr/english/festival/festival1.php
