Last updated on June 30th, 2023 at 11:12 am
If I told you the best way to beat the summer heat in Korea is to make your way to a festival that embodies mud baths, live concerts, parties on a beach, rain dance, air show, and skincare products, you will say I’m crazy.
Crazy I am, and crazy Boryeong Mud Festival is too!
Each year in July, S. Korea becomes the highlight of East Asia’s biggest frat party. It’s absolutely okay if you haven’t heard about this festival yet. We stumbled upon this festival at the very last minute and booked our tickets less than 24 hrs before leaving Seoul. So here’s all you need to know about the Boryeong Mud Festival.
Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links.
Boryeong Mud Festival makes for an easy day trip from Seoul, S. Korea. For us, it was a faint reminder of the Indian festival of Holi. Instead of colors, people are covered in mud. TIP: Carry a waterproof pouch for your phone so you can take photos & videos.
When is Boryeong Mud Festival 2019
This year the festival is from July 19 to July 28, 2019. The event is held at Daecheon beach in Boryeong every year. They have live K-Pop concerts and DJ parties hosted throughout the festival. Be sure to check out the event schedule for Boryeong Mud Festival.
We were lucky to see an air show by the beach as we enjoyed a live DJ concert. Although alcohol was involved early in the day, most of the crowd was very well behaved.
Why have a Mud Festival in Korea?
Turns out, this clay-like mud from the mud flats of Boryeong in S. Korea is so rich in minerals that it does wonders for your skin. It should come as no surprise that very soon Koreans started using this mud in cosmetics. As a genius marketing strategy, Boryeong organized a small event in town which has now turned into Asia’s biggest summer party ever.
Today Boryeong attracts over a million visitors including Koreans and foreigners alike during this one week of Mud Festival. It helps that the festival takes place on Daecheon beach, you can take a swim if it gets too hot.
How to get from Seoul to Daecheon Beach in Boryeong
We booked a 1-day shuttle package tour with Trazy who took care of our round trip transportation, festival entry tickets, and lockers. The price per person was $54 USD which wasn’t bad in our opinion. Now there are many other ways to get to Boryeong – Public Transport Buses from Seoul or a flight to Boryeong, check out flight options by clicking here. But given that we only had a day to enjoy this adventure we didn’t want to go through public transport hassles.
The shuttle bus picked us up at 7 am from Myeongdong and we reached Daecheon Beach at around 10.30am. So it took us about 3.30 hours with a coffee & restroom break at a service station where our mini adventure of losing the shuttle bus began. I wish I was making this up but true story.
DRAME – Our adventure of getting lost in Korea before the Mudfest
We didn’t see our shuttle bus when we came outside in the parking after our allotted 20 mins stop. Anxiety arose when we couldn’t find the bus anywhere else in the parking lot and no one around us spoke English. Thankfully we had our international roaming activated so we were able to contact the English speaking tour guide in the bus.
But panic took over when he asked if we could hitchhike with someone nearby as there was no way for him to come back. While Gaurav refused to sit in a stranger’s car, I was still in disbelief that we were left behind.
Luckily there was a nice American-Canadian couple on the bus who recommended our tour guide to talk to the closest Korean we can find in the parking lot. So we handed the phone to the closest Korean who turned out to be a Chinese tour bus driver. Reading their facial expressions the conversation did not look convincing at all. After about 10 minutes of loud verbal exchanges, that guy asked us to sit in his bus. In his broken English, he told us they are going to drop us mid-way on the highway where our shuttle was now waiting.
In all of our adventures, there is none like sitting clueless on a bus full of curious Chinese tourists. Seeing our shuttle bus, I think I finally know how a lost child feels when he/she is reunited with their parents. Our tour guide was so regretful that he probably cried a little after seeing us back. He had forgotten to count the number of people on the bus before they left! We finally laugh it off after reaching Boryeong and milked the guy’s guilt for a couple of Sojus 🙂
Where to stay for the Mud Festival
In Seoul:
We have a few recommendations if you wish to stay in Seoul.
- The Westin Chosun Hotel
- The Hilton
- The Radisson Seoul
Check more hotel options here.
In Boryeong:
We have a few recommendations listed below:
Make sure to check out travelers hotel reviews on TripAdvisor before heading to Boryeong.
This was one of the best adventures we had in S. Korea. After reading our post, we hope you will also add this to your bucket list!
Happy Traveling!
Oh my word, this looks SO fun. I would definitely be up to try this 🙂 If only I was around in Korea.
Yeah it was our amazing luck to be in Seoul around the same time as this festival! 🙂
While I’d love to experience South Korea, I’m not sure how I feel about the mud festival. Unless it’s acceptable to watch from afar and enjoy it that way! 🙂
Haha, I respect that feeling. I probably would feel like that for some other fests around the world. But hey, the music concert is free and mud-free zone 😉
Boryeong mud festival looks like a lot of fun.I think my daughter would have a great time too.
I am glad to hear that Amrita 🙂 I hope you and your daughter get to go there someday soon!
I looove South Korea but I didn’t realize they have a festival like these! I haven’t ventured outside of Seoul yet though but is planning to. Good to know about this. Looks so much fun!
I really fell in love with S. Korea as well!! It’s such a warm country 🙂
This is a great event that I would love to participate in. Also South Korea has been on my bucket list for so long, would be great to include this! You guys look like you had fun!
Thanks Mayi! Definitely look into this fest next year if S. Korea is in your radar.
This looks like the crazy sort of festival I would love! It is so exciting and I bet your skin felt amazing afterwards! If I’m ever in South Korea, I will watch out for this!
Yes, so much so that I ended up buying a bit of this mud face pack for back home 😉
The mud festival looks so cool and fun. I hope nobody gets hurt while hurling mud at each other. 🙂
Haha, no it was super safe! People were dancing and enjoying the rides/games more than mud fighting 🙂
Sounds like an incredible experience! Actually i had never heard about this mud festival ever before but good to know it is happening thanks to all the good effects of the mud on skin. Is it like an Indian version of multani mitti?
You could compare it to multani mitti for sure except it is more like clay in texture. I have mostly seen multani mitti in powder form which we then mix with water for face packs. Either way, both are great for your skin 🙂
This is the first time I’ve heard about the festival and it looks absolutely fantastic! Definitely one to put on the bucket list. Did you notice any positive changes in your skin after the festival?
Well, the one positive I’d say I noticed was that I didn’t get any sunburn in the middle of Asian summer since I was pouring the mud on my face and back.
I’ve always wanted to go to this festival! Definitely seems like a good way to cool down in the summer — and bonus points for being at the beach. Sounds like you had quite the adventure with your shuttle bus, but at least you got some soju out of it :).
Haha.. yes that Soju really made up for all the chaos 🙂
I had no idea there’s such a fest in Korea!! I actually have never been there but I am convinced that I have to go someday. Amazing post! 🙂 <3
It’s an incredible place S. Korea! You must definitely check it out someday 🙂