Mud Festival, KOREA
Airing Date: Aug 29th, 2005
Daecheon Beach is just two hours from Seoul on Korea's West Coast. For one week every year the white sandy beaches turn into a massive mud bath. The Boryeong Mud Festival attracts more than two million Koreans and visitors every year.
Special high quality mud, rich in minerals and good for the skin, nerves, and preventing wrinkles is imported into Daecheon from the nearby town of Boryeong especially for the festival, just don't think mineral mud means spa retreat.
Although Daecheon for the majority of the year is a spa town, this festival is certainly not one for relaxation, it's all about getting messy and having fun.
Mud self-massage is a good way to ease into the messy brown day, followed by a trip down the inflatable mud slide to dirty yourself up a little more.
Mud wrestling is another popular activity over the week, where participants saddle up in a sumo-type nappy and wrestle with their equally muddy partner in an inflatable pit. .
If this is all sounding like a bit too much, then maybe body painting, mud photo taking contests or the slightly more conventional mud massage are more your style.
For a small fee, you can also have mud brushed on at the mud massage tent although the name is a misnomer, and you're better off sliding into the pit for the full treatment. Lucky the beach is right there when you've had enough, so you can easily wash it all off.
A word of warning though: avoiding the mud is futile, so this festival is not for the clean freak. Those who try to evade the mud will be thrown into mud prison where buckets of mud are thrown over the captives by the friendly locals, until they succumb to the fun..
If you're still up for more muddiness then the mud military training is yet another option. Crawling and sliding along the sandy and muddy beach on your stomach, the main purpose here is simply to get everyone coated in mud.
By the end of the day, the great mass of muddy participants head down to the beach and scrub off the gunk in the ocean, getting ready for the evenings activities where muddy singers, dancers and beauties vie for the titles of Mr and Mrs Mud.
Most contests are open to foreigners and there are tons of mud-product prizes up for grabs. .
Further information:
Daecheon Beach, Boryeong Mud Festival is held in July.
For further information contact The Korean National Tourism Organisation on 1800 211 717 of visit the website: www.tour2korea.com
A four night package to Seoul is available from $1599 ex east coast. Prices include surcharges, fees and taxes. Conditions apply.
Price includes return flights with Asiana Airlines and four night's accommodation.
Valid 1/6 to 31/7/06
Contact Go Holidays on 1300 737 747
Prices correct at 29/8/05
