Boryeong Mudfestival

We went to the Mud festival on the mainland last weekend with a huge group of friends. It was wicked! The festival is on the mainland, and about a 3 hr train ride south of Seoul in a city called Boryeong. We stayed in a wonderful jijjalbong (sauna, bath house) both Friday and Saturday. It's actually a famous jijjalbong, called Dragon Hill. It was huge! It had 6 floors, including a fitness center, a sauna and spa area, areas to sleep on the floor, restaurants, an arcade area, and many sections where there were hot and cold rooms and hot and cold pools. In the girl area (where you are naked :) my friends and I relaxed in a warm pool which was partly outdoors so you could hear the birds singing and there was a big tree in the center of the room. It was so relaxing and peaceful. The best part is that it only costs 12,000 won ($11) to stay there for the night. I can't believe it.

The festival was another story though! Let's just say it was pretty much like spring break back in college. There were tons of young foreigners (a lot of military guys) and everyone was just drinking all day and either hanging out on the beach or in the mud area. The mud area looked like it was entirely for kids. There were inflatable pools (filled with mud water) and inflatable obstacle courses and slides. When we first arrived early in the morning when there were no people and it was all getting set up. The whole thing looked like a joke. However, only a few hours into the afternoon and the place was filled with tons of young people, having mud fights, wearing water bottles as a necklace filled with wine, beer or soju. There were tons of food tents and tons of cameras everywhere. I'm pretty sure Keith and I will be in some random pictures to advertise the festival. It was raining on and off that day which made the experience a little chilly but it was fun being covered with mud. It's supposed to be very good for your skin, hence, the reason why Koreans have the festival, so I was happy to be all dirty that day.

Our friends we went with were a good group of people and for the most part we all stuck together throughout the crazy day. However, by around 6pm, Keith and I, and a few of our friends were passed out on the beach and had enough of the drunkenness. We decided instead of staying at the hostel near the festival that we had planned on staying at, that we would go back to the clean and relaxing jijjalbong in Seoul. So, we went to the hostel to pick up our stuff but before we could go inside, we had to be cleaned off with a hose by the owner (an ajumma, older woman)! It was hilarious so I took some photos of her cleaning off Keith. The water was freezing!

Then, we took the 3 hr train ride back to Seoul and spent a quiet night getting rest. The next day we spent time around Seoul area, shopping and eating at the various restaurants they have there.

It was an excellent weekend and a good experience, although I think one time going to the mud festival is enough! ha