By Marion Gregory
Imagine, if you will, a beach party where you can paint yourself in mud and throw it at your friends. The party is on one of the prettiest beaches you’ve ever seen and the day is warm. There are thousands of people around you, all having fun wading through mud pools, sliding down mud-covered slides and lazing around on the sand. Now imagine that you can do this during your summer in Korea.
Welcome to the Boryeong Mud Fest on Daecheon Beach, which will take place July 17th-July 25.
Boryeong has been famous for the mud from its tidal flats for many years and has only recently drawn
international attention through its annual mud festival. The mud flats were originally used for farming but, as the locals soon discovered, a mud party on the beach was a much more lucrative idea. Good news for them and for the thousands of tourists (including myself and some friends) who were drawn to the area last July.
The festival grounds are located at Daecheon Beach, near the little town of Boryeong on the west coast of Korea. Easily reached by bus, the town is essentially transformed into a little Cancun for two weekends in July.
Mud from the tidal flats near the beach is brought in by truck and deposited at stations around the area for the fourteen days of the festival. It’s a place where you can literally paint yourself, wrestle, slide, dive, sculpt, and make soap out of mud. There’s even coloured mud powder that you can use to paint yourself and your friends different colors before you dive into the ocean to wash it all off and start over again.
Like every festival in Korea, there are tents for ‘festival experiences’. At Daecheon Beach, you can learn all about the history of the mud festival and the area of Boryeong. Since this is one of the most popular events among foreigners in Korea, you’ll find that the festival caters to the foreign community. A variety of souvenirs and mud cosmetics are available. There’s also an outdoor tent restaurant area that lets you eat like you’re back at home while you play on the beach. Of course, if you prefer to eat a traditional Korean meal, the seafood restaurants less than a block away on the main road are a great chance to try the local fare.
Even sleeping is an experience. Due to the sheer amount of people who come to Boryeong for the festival, most hotels only offer minbak-style rooms. This means that rooms are shared by a large group of people and you sleep on the floor on blankets instead of on a bed. All of them had showers outside of the hotel to wash off any extra mud you may cart in from the beach. There are also free lockers on the beach to store anything that you don’t want to get muddy while you play in the muck.
To learn more about this year’s festival, visit the Mud Fest website at www.mudfestival.or.kr.
Boryeong Mud Festival Guide
▶ Period : July 17 – July 25, 2010
▶ Location : Dacheon Beach and around the city
☞ Learn more about Boryeong Mud Festival
▶ Tourist Information : There is a tourist information center at the Citizens Tower Square where visitors can get useful information about the festival and sightseeing in town. (English, Japanese, Chinese)
▶ Accommodation: A variety of accommodation such as motels and inns are available along the beach. During the festival, the demand is high, so it is best to secure your accommodation early.
▶ A translation service is available for foreign tourists. You can get information about clean and affordable lodging facilities and make reservations with the help of local officials. Call 011-438-4865 (English)
▶ Food: On and near the beach you’ll find numerous seafood restaurants serving raw fish and grilled clams. If you are just looking for a quick and simple meal, the fast food restaurant Lotteria is located at the Citizens Tower Square.
*Note: Thanks to Warren Keeler for his input on hotels and activities at the festival*
Marion Gregory’s Malhada Gwangju (Speak Gwangju) is a monthly column that takes a look at life in and around Gwangju. Marion is an English teacher in Gwangju from Rosetown, Saskatchewan, Canada. E-mail her at emjaygee24@yahoo.ca .
