You've Got a Little Mud...Just There.

Sorry about the long delay between the previous post and this one, but in all honesty, nothing was going to live up to this past weekend. Therefore, I didn't feel like making you sit and read about my rain-filled, average week at Little America. I'm only thinking of you here! More time for you to look at pictures of cats, or work on that novel that has been sitting on your bedside table for the past 4 months.

This weekend is one of the events I've been waiting for since...well since I arrived in Korea! I got here soon after my coworkers attended last summer and saw the pictures of brightly colored mud body paint and was pumped to be involved the next year. As the time got closer, any mention of mud, or festivals, or even just the weekend got my bouncing like a little kid who sees an ice-cream shop across the street. Friday, immediately after our last class let out, Kaitie and I speed-walked to the subway station to meet Katrina and Tarah and get to Sadang station to meet the bus. We booked our trip through the When IN Korea (WINK) Tour group, through which we have experienced several other trips. As it had already been a long day we planned on maybe catching a few zzz's on the bus ride down, however this idea was thwarted soon after setting foot inside our transportation for the evening. Greeted by a crowd of headband-wearing, foam-sword-wielding men, I knew it was not going to be a quiet ride there. The atmosphere was buzzing with excitement, and alcohol as people began the celebrations that would last throughout the weekend. We enjoyed people watching and hearing some pretty awful karaoke versions of Barbie Girl as we got closer to Boryeong, a city on the midwest coast of Korea.

Arriving at our pension we unloaded the bags and wandered down to the beach to check out the area we would be spending the next day encased in mud. And what is a night beach walk without some fireworks?

 The town was still a little quiet compared to how it would be the next day. There was still no shortage of foreigners stumbling around in search of something to entertain themselves for the evening. As for us girls, we were content with just checking out the area and making it to bed relatively early in order to fully appreciate the festival the next day.

For those of you who aren't sure exactly what Boryeong Mudfest is, here is a short summary. This summer marks the 16th annual Mud Festival. Starting in 1998, the festival's main purpose was to promote the cosmetics created from the mineral-filled mud that is found in the Boryeong mudflats. The mud is said to have anti-aging qualities. Helping with renewed-elasticity and overall health of the skin, the mud is packaged into different cosmetic products which are sold throughout the festival. While this may have been the original purpose of the festival, and maybe some people go with the intent of buying these magical skincare cosmetics, I have a feeling the festival has gone through major changes since the first one in 1998. Now, the festival is a "must-go" event in foreigner's travel books. People come by the busload from all over the country and Asia in general to take part in the festivities here. Drinking, music, and dancing, while simultaneously being covered head to toe in mud draws mind-blowing crowds to this small town. The major mud area is actually much smaller than I expected. Containing several blow-up slides, obstacle courses, and mud-wrestling pits, the mudfest area would turn out to be a sea of people waiting in lines to take their turn participating in mud-covered fun. The festival is a lot of hurry-up-and-waiting, but what can you expect with such a huge number of people in a teeny tiny little space. Back to our day, now that you have a basic idea of the history and evolution of this event...

 That next morning, We woke up early and walked down by the festival from our pension to check out what was going on. There are two time slots for when you can go into the mud area. This morning session was much more relaxed than it would be later that afternoon. Lots of families and older men and women, soaking in the magical mud. We saw the body painting booth, which is the first thing I wanted to do when we got there later on! In usual Korean fashion we walked around and took some photos near the various statues around the festival area.

An older woman getting help out of the mudpit, which would soon be changed into the mud-wrestling pit later on...

Just the beginning of the mud-coverage. War paint.

After heading back, getting changed, and grabbing some lunch it was time to get messy! We were nearly first in line at the body painting booths, the volunteers of which had just returned from their lunch break as well. With paintbrushes and naturally colored mud, men, women, and children were painted head to toe with a rainbow of colors and patterns. This was the best way to get even more excited about the festival itself. Earlier in the week I purchased a waterproof case for my camera, knowing technology and mud usually don't go too well together. I used this as much as possible during the first part of the festival, and then brought it back to the safety of the room before entering the main mud-pit area. Even with the water/mud proof case, I was not going to take too many risks. Maybe next year. WINK had a photographer hired for the event, so once he gets his pictures up I will share the link for you all to check out the muddy craziness!

Tarah getting painted

Kaitie's turn

human canvass

 Katrina looking very cubist

Post painting

As the second sessions started we lined up in what we thought was the queue to get into the main area. After the line didn't move more than a few feet we soon found out this was not in fact the line to get in...we walked around in the direction we were told by a festival volunteer and lined up again in a much shorter line, only to be told once we made it to the front that it was the kids entrance....again we walked to another entrance and finally made it inside without any trouble. It was then we had to decide which line to join up into next. We decided on the pool to wash off our body paint which had by then flaked off and turned our skin smooth and chalky. Once we started rinsing off we realized that the dye had stuck to our skin more than we had expected. With multi-colored tinted skin we walked around and decided that the lines were a bit ridiculous. But, I REALLY wanted to get in to the mudwrestling pit. I couldn't come to mudfest and not get in there. Based on the line I might have made it into the pit by November, so I decided to just watch longingly from the edge. It was then that one of the guys with us that day came over, picked me up and proceeded to dump me into the pit despite the unconvincing "No, please don'ts" from the volunteers around us. Basically, the rule about the mud wrestling pit is that if you stand, you wont be standing much longer. After that it's free reign. Guy or girl you will get picked up, thrown, and pulled around in the mud which will go absolutely everywhere. After getting thrown around and discovering that the mud doesn't taste as good as it feels, we climbed out completely satisfied. While I felt badly for skipping the line, I was SO glad he decided to take action and throw me in. My only regret of mudfest is not having my camera or finding the WINK camera man at that moment. I have no idea what I looked like covered in mud, but I'm sure it wasn't pretty. I had Katrina and Kaitie wipe off my eyes so I could see as we walked to the beach to wash off. Pretty sure I will be washing mud out my ears and hair for the next week or so. Totally worth it.

After rinsing the bulk of the mud off it was time to head back, change, and grab a drink before the evening began. A shower felt great, and actually my skin does feel softer! As we were standing in our room, a sudden deafening sound erupted around us. As the urge to duck and cover under the bed subsided, we walked out on our small "balcony" and realized the airshow had begun down by the beach! Rushing to get ready we got down there in time to see the Korean Black Angels amaze us with their incredible precision and fearless tricks in the air.

colored contrail created intricate patterns behind the jets

That evening I split off from the girls, who headed to a friend's barbeque and walked around with some guys I originally met on the Jindo Sea Parting trip earlier this year. Throughout the town there were parties, dj's, food and drink stands and just hundreds upon hundreds of people. I don't know what this place is like on the other 362 days of the year, but for these three it must be overwhelming for the citizens who live there. After grabbing some dinner we walked along the beach to see a huge crowd sitting and watching the beach. It seemed like they were waiting for something to happen, but we weren't sure what. Some theories thrown out there was a lunar eclipse, or a dolphin show. I asked a girl standing nearby who said the fireworks show was supposed to have started an hour earlier. Soon after hearing this the show began from a boat out in the water. The display completely made up for the delay! Made even better by watching it from the beach.

That night we mingled with groups around the town, got some sparklers and just enjoyed each others' company before heading back to the pension for the night. The day seemed to fly by! We were all exhausted and dropped onto our pillows. The next morning Tarah and I walked along the beach, which was much quieter than it had been the day before, however the festival was still going on! A much calmer crowd participated in mud-covered fun this day. The weather continued to defy all previous forecasts from a multitude of sources. The sun was out most of Saturday and peaked out a few times Sunday too! Couldn't have asked for better for my first and certainly not last Mudfest experience. We ended the day listening to a pretty terrible rap duo giving a concert from one of the stages on the beach. Their "famous" song Ajumma (middle-aged-woman) should tell you all you need to know about these two. We entertained ourselves by people watching and playing with cute Korean kids that came our way.

Don't tell me they aren't adorable! After grabbing some lunch we hopped on the bus and pulled into Bucheon about 3 hours later tired and ready for a real shower. For anyone coming to Korea, or just planning a visit I would highly recommend this festival to everyone! From babies to 100 year olds, this festival has a little bit for everyone. It really brings people together. You see Koreans interacting with Foreigners in mud wrestling, body painting, and everything inbetween. One of the funniest things about the festival is the overwhelming number of old Korean men with ginormous cameras made for professional athletic events. It was completely normal for a guy to come up right to your face with his zoom lens an inch from your nose to take a "natural picture". Also if you posed for one with your friends, they multiplied so you would have between 10 and 20 old guys snapping your photo. While you feel like a celebrity, you also wonder where your face will end up. Maybe next year you will get a pamphlet with that picture on the front? Who knows. Either way a great way to meet people and get closer to your friends as you turn into a human mud sculpture.

This next week is the last week before summer vacation! We have a kindergarten field trip on Thursday, then Market Day and Birthday Party on Friday before Kaitie, Katrina and I go to the Philippines for a week! So looking forward to this trip. Knocking on wood for some good weather. I know it is monsoon season there, so rain is expected, but any sun that happens will be soaked up!

Until next time,

Korean of the post:
코에 진흙이 있에요
(Koae jinheulki isayo)
There is mud on your nose.