Festivals in the World
Korea: Mud Festival
YeWon Lee (Faculty of Letters, 2nd Year)
Mud festival was chosen as the #1 festival that Korean's want to participate. It is held in Boryeong, where it's famous for their mud. Hence, that's how the festival was established.
Mud festival was first held in July 1998; therefore, it has a relatively short history. But it has continued to be chosen as the representative festival for Korea ever since 2008. Today, it is known as the greatest domestic festival and is also considered as a global festival. It received 3 awards from the Pinnacle Awards at the International Festival Association in 2009.
Over a span of 12 years, there have been 15 million visitors (40 thousand of them being foreigners) with a profit of more than 370 billion dollars. The festival is held every year in mid July for 4 days.
One reason why the festival is popular lies among the quality of the mud. Since there is a great amount of minerals, germanium, bentonite, it is highly effective for the skin. The quality of the mud from Boryeong is especially excellent because it is from one of the 5 biggest tidelands in the world.
The advantage of this festival is that people can enjoy various events that deal with mud. For instance, there are gmud contestsh and gmud massagesh. The festival keeps things fresh by changing up the games every year, which allow participators to discover new things every time. The simple and easy attractions draw many visitors.
There are also other enjoyable attractions that uses mud. For example, there are self-massages where you thinly apply mud on your body. There is something for everyone: kids, couples, family, and friends. For people who want a little thrill, there's a mudslide that's 12 meters high and 44 meters long. It has become a popular spot for teenagers. But the most popular attraction is the large-scale mud house. You can play many games and it's a great way to exchange with new people.
The mud festival isn't just for watching but it's an event that you can actually participate. The rule to the festival is that you let loose and enjoy playing with mud. It's a great way to forget about daily stress and release tension. I think mud festival would be perfect for someone that would like to have a unique experience.
