Mudfest 2010!

This weekend was Mudfest 2010. Mudfest is an annual event held in Boryeong, on the West Coast of Korea. It is held at Daecheon beach. The mud in that area is said to have special properties that make for healthier skin. There are lots of products made by this special mud. A two hour train ride south of Seoul took us to Boryeong city. This festival takes place each year for two weeks.

I would say it can be summed up as a Cancun Spring Break trip. I think 90% of the foreigners in Korea were at this festival, and 88% of them were drunk(side note: I drank some wine in a box, but I was not overly intoxicated at any time due to my stomach's inability to handle alcohol.) There were mud slides, mud wrestling, mud obstacles courses, mud hoses spraying people, mud fights, mud pools, mud body painting, etc.

Despite the rain, it was really fun, and I am definitely glad I went.

Amanda and I are ready to go! Waterproof camera bag- check. Matching outfits- check.

Joe decided a speedo was in order for this event. Not sure if we agreed, but in the end, i think it was a hit with festival goers.

Some pre-event food at Lotteria- Korea's rip off of McDonald's.

We found some wine in a box. It seemed perfect for the festivities.

Event entrance.

Enjoying our wine....

Group shot with wine in a box.

This picture sums up Mudfest.

As does this picture.....

Event goers. Basically, everyone is covered in mud.

More event goers.

A mess of mud.

Mud body painting!

After being thrown into a mud pit. The people were ruthless. Every time I stood up, someone threw me back down. I was even grabbing the side of the pool trying to get out and someone grabbed me and pulled me back in!!!

The beach.

Me, Joe, Amanda.

One of the slides.

Joe wasn't the only one in a Speedo!

It just wouldn't be a complete Korean experience without something like this. I mean, why would you wear heels to this kind of event!?!? Come on girls!

These guys were sporting some mullet wigs. Pretty amazing.

Joe after going into Mud Prison. It was basically some bars set up and when you walked through they sprayed you with a hose of mud!

After being thrown into the mud pool, I had so much mud in my eyes that it absolutely hurt to open them. My eyes hurt so bad, and it was hard to see. My friends met this guy, Hector, who had contact solution and q-tips for this very thing. When he heard me say I couldn't see, he offered to help. I never quite got the full story, but my friends seemed to think he was an expert at this and insisted I let him get the mud out of my eyes. Apparently, in the Marines he was a medic, or a helper of some kind. A bad idea, yes, but I was desperate. In the end, it worked.

After a day of mud, we decided to get cleaned up and go to a nice seafood dinner.