Mudfest

Sorry this post has taken so long (although there are a couple of others that I still have to do from even longer ago), but I was lazy about getting a camera developed and then other stuff happened, so you're getting it now.

Mudfest sign. These little guys are the mascots for the town and were on everything.

In July for the last few years there has been a huge festival in a tiny town called Boryeong. The mudfest originally started out kind of like a spa event, where Koreans came and sat in mud and spread it on their skin because it's really good for the pores or something. Then some younger people and foreigners found it, added booze and games and tada - Mudfest.


A huge group from Jinju went this year. One guy arranged it for us and we got a karaoke bus to take us the 2 hours (which took 3 1/2 because we made a lot of stops) to Boryeong. He had also arranged a pension for us. I don't remember how many rooms we booked in total, but I ended up in a room with Liezle, Cindy, Vera, Carlie and Dan, which was one of the smaller rooms. It wasn't very fancy, but we had our own bathroom and a/c which was nice.

The first night was interesting as our group decided to sleep so we could enjoy the next day, while others partied until 4am (or later). Two people actually got lost in a town the size of my mom's subdivision and ended up renting a hotel room. Saturday morning we got up bright and early and tried to find a place for breakfast. We ended up at a convenience store eating yogurt and muffins. After food, we got changed into bathing suits and shorts and headed about 5 blocks down the road to the festival. They had free lockers for foreigners and we put towels and wallets etc. in them and went to the main area.

There were 4 main areas - regular painting mud, colored mud and food, the inflatables & games and the beach. We started with painting and you basically just use paintbrushes or your hands and draw on yourself or other people. There were dozens of troughs set up with brushes attached.

Vera, Liezle, me and Cindy post painting but before truly being covered in mud

After that we went into the inflatables area (the main events area). It cost around $5 to get in and no bottles or alcohol were allowed inside. They had lots of slides, pools, mud pits, and obstacles courses set up. Some of the lines were really long, but we did one huge slide and I took out the "catcher" at the end of the slide - oops. The worst part was that mud literally went every where - up your nose, in your mouth etc. I had decided to wear contacts for the festival because I didn't want to break/lose my glasses. The only reason this sucked was that mud stuck to my contacts and I and 3 other people were often running to a sink (or pool or hose) to rinse our eyes as best as we could. It felt awesome to take them out at the end of the day.

Girls getting hit with back splash mud

In "jail" where they throw huge trash cans full of mud at your back (or face depending on the direction you're facing)

Standing in line for the mud slide, after going to "jail" and into the mud wrestling pool

After hanging out there for a few hours, we grabbed kebabs for lunch and walked around a bit. Then Cindy and I waited in line to get colored mud. After being painted, we went to the beach and met up with another group of people. We went swimming and there was a mini dance contest. Then they brought out a fire truck and turned the hose on the crowd. They also had a couple of hoses shooting mud too. People went nuts for that, and while I didn't really mind the water, I didn't like the mud coming at me that fast.

Cindy and me after being painted with colored mud.

Group on the beach, right before the water/mud cannons

After beaching, we went back to the pension and showered and got dressed to go out. We all had dinner together - we ordered pizza - then went back to the beach for a fireworks show and some floating lanterns. You could buy your own Roman candles and Spencer and Cindy got in trouble for shooting them too close to the water (or something). Most of the group went out to a dance club, but I was really tired and not in the mood, so I stayed on the beach and talked for awhile with another group of people. I decided to try and get some sleep since I had only had about 2 hours the night before. This didn't happened as people were partying all around our house (both inside and outside). The girls got home about an hour after I did and told me all the gossip about the club. Then we went to bed.

The fireworks display was pretty good. So far, the fireworks as just about  every festival have been good. Koreans seem to know their fireworks.

The next morning Cindy and I got up and went to the beach. We swam and met a group of her friends for a couple of hours, then we had to head back to the pension to get the bus back to Jinju. The bus ride home was much more subdued than the one there. We watched "Old School" and lots of people fell asleep. Not sure my skin was any better, but it was definitely worth the trip.

Mikey got the award for best sunburn

Me and the mudfest mascot before heading to the beach