Tradition or Dirty Novelty? A visit to South Korea’s Boryeong Mud Festival

A brief history

For two weeks every July, thousands flock from around the Korean peninsula to Boryeong, a small, sleepy town situated on the western coast of the country for the Boryeong Mud Festival, or Mudfest, as it’s colloquially called. Even more fly in from overseas, some traveling from as far as Europe and the Americas, to experience some good old fashioned mud wrestling, mud sliding and mud swimming – activities that constitute what has in recent years become the number one Korean festival to visit.

Since its inception, the Boryeong Mud Festival has attracted millions of visitors from all over the globe © Boryeong Mud Festival Organization Committee

But the popular event, which rakes in millions of dollars in revenue annually, has more humble beginnings. In fact, when it was first established in 1999, the festival was intended to promote cosmetics made from the region’s mud. According to event organizers, Boryeong mud is high in minerals, especially germanium and bentonite, and it emits large amounts of far-infrared rays, which are particularly beneficial for the skin. It didn’t take long, however, for the Spring Break-esque beachside party to outshine the mud beauty marketing.