Boryeong Mud Festival – Thailand has Songkran Water Festival and Spain has its La Tomatina Festival, but what about South Korea? They have the muddiest celebration ever, wrapped in Boryeong Mud Festival which will be happening soon, in July 2019!
Everything from parade to K-pop performances and products fair, this celebration is something you should add into your itinerary if you come to South Korea this summer.
Now, get ready to get muddy and forget your adult life probs because this is the perfect place to bring back your childhood dream, be carefree and have fun!
Boryeong Mud Festival 2019 Checklist: All You Need to Know Before You Go
Ready… Set… Mud!
Getting to Know
Out of the numerous awesome festivals in Korea, Boryeong Mud Festival attracts the largest number of international visitors. This festival was first held in 1998, and has received various awards from the government and other associations ever since.
The city of Boryeong itself situated at the coastal area in southwest of Chungcheongnam province, and produces natural sea mud to be used as cosmetics and masks. To increase the awareness, this festival was then initiated.
During the festival period, tourists flock to the area to experience the benefits of Boryeong’s mud while having a blast. This is exactly where you gonna live your childhood memories! Did we mention that this festival attracts a large number of international visitors?
Some fly from Europe, America, and even Asia itself, to experience the festival’s great atmosphere, enjoy mud wrestling, mud sliding and even swimming in the giant mud bath – along with other fun activities that make this Korean festival worth to visit!
What to Expect
This year, the Mudfest will be held for one week! From 19 July to 28 July 2019, Daecheon Beach will welcome the visitors to have some mud-tastic days. While they have mud mobscene or night performance everyday, schedule your visit on the weekend since the most noteworthy events and activities happen.
The festivities will begin in the morning as Daecheon Beach filled up with mud flats, mud pits, mud pools, and some other features to make this festival even merrier. Besides those muddy activities, there are also a lot of events that will be held throughout the week.
Street parade, Black Eagles airshow, fireworks show, mud skin beauty competition, yacht parade, K-pop concert, and many more are going to turn up the enjoyment of this festival! What’s more is that Psy and IU will do live concert at Mudfest on 25 and 28 July.
Make sure what day you wanna come, by checking the full program schedule! Because you sure don’t wanna miss the big days, right 😉
Ticket Cost Guide
There are 4 (four) ticket types if you wanna come to this festival with two different prices for different schedules. You may have to check the age group also as they apply minimum and maximum age for all ticket types.
Monday to Thursday ticket is more budget-friendly compared to weekend ticket. However, the main activities will be held on the weekend, thus the higher price is for Friday to Sunday events. Check below for a brief information.
- Regular Zone
- Youth (11 – 19 years old): 10,000 ~ 12,000 Won
- Adult (20 – 64 years old): 12,000 ~ 14,000 Won
- Group
- Youth (more than 20): 9,000 ~ 11,000 Won
- Adult (more than 20): 11,000 ~ 13,000 Won
- Guardian (all guardian): 4,000 ~ 6,000 Won
- Kids Zone
- Kids (3 – 10 years old): 9,000 ~ 11,000 Won
Now since you’ve read that out clearly, why don’t you buy the ticket before it’s too late?
Getting There
Daecheon is a beautiful place to enjoy the seaview while playing mud with your friends, of course. This place is 3 hours away from Seoul, and become one of the most accessible summer destinations in Korea.
If you tell us that you’re Boryeong-bound soon for the Mudfest yet don’t know how to get there, fret not! Keep reading so you won’t get lost on your way there.
First, let’s fly to Korea! Take a flight to Incheon Airport and everything will be settled just fine.
From Incheon Airport, going to Boryeong is trouble-free. Just board the Airport Railway train to Yongsan Station then take Korail train to Boryeong. Meanwhile from Seoul, take the subway from the closest subway station to Yongmun Station and board into Korail train to Daecheon Station.
Besides train, you can also take bus easily! Bus travel time varies according to which terminal you’re at and how bad the traffic is. Well, since everyone’s coming to this festival, don’t be surprised if you have to face heavier traffic.
You can take a direct bus to Boryeong Bus Terminal either from Central City Bus Terminal, Dong Seoul Bus Terminal, or Goyang General Terminal. From Boryeong Bus Terminal, take the bus that will take you straight to Daecheon Beach for about 35 minutes.
Overnight Stay
No need to fight tooth and nail to find cozy accommodation in Boryeong, but it might be tricky if you don’t plan beforehand as you’ll have to compete with people across the globe who want to come to the festival.
Some options you can choose are including hotels, hostels, motels, or jimjilbang which is Korean traditional spa where people can stay overnight. Event hough jimjilbang is the most affordable choice, that will do when you wanna stay for one night only.
Above all, the coziest accommodation will be a hotel. Make sure to book upon arrival to get the most comfy hotel near the venue. Hotels like Hotel Mudrin or Oceanview Resortel have the best location to Daecheon Beach and can be reserved online.
Nearby Attractions
Source: Boryeong Mud Festival Official Website
In addition to Daecheon Beach, Boryeong has a variety of fun and thrilling extreme sports such as ziptrek and paragliding, which will make your holiday even more memorable!
For those who aren’t into extreme adventure, you can always enjoy its fantastic view of Boryeong downtown and many more around West Coast such as Wonsando Beach, Hodo Beach, and Yongdu Beach.
If you wanna go a bit further, island trip will be exciting! Sapsido Island or Nokdo Island offers natural beauty that will charm you. To top it all, Boryeong is close to several mountains if you love hiking for instance Mt. Seongjusan Natural Forest, Mt. Okma, or Mt. Ami.
Culinary Delights
Enjoy superb views of the city, perfect festival, and cozy hotel in Boryeong. Now, do you know what else you need to add? To tempt your taste buds with some Boryeong culinary delights!
Having beaches around, Boryeong is a perfect place for you to have mouth-watering seafood originally from Korea. Here are some of our recommendations, Grilled Oyster, Blue Crab Soup, Octopus, Pen Shells, and Jumbo Shrimp!
Oops, drooling enough? Our suggestion is to try as much as you can because Korean cuisines always have something different and appetizing! Your belly needs yummy 😉
Plan Your Itinerary!
Ok, ok. We know that going to Korea for Boryeong Mud Festival only isn’t enough. So maybe you wanna stay longer for a few days. Make sure your passport is still valid and your visa ready, alright?
Remember that to have an efficient, effective, and extraordinary holiday, an itinerary helps a lot. Check out this 7 days Korean itinerary example for the first-timers and customize your own before catching a flight to South Korea!