Good Clean Fun

Sometimes the best marketing ideas take on a life of their own. Seeking to publicize the skin-care benefits of grooming products made with local mineral-rich mud, the South Korean city of Boryeong staged a small "mud festival" in 1998. Eight years later, the annual Boryeong Mud Festival, mudfestival.or.kr, sees a staggering 1.5 million visitors flock to the normally sleepy seaside destination for a week of gooey fun. Located 200 km (or about a two-hour bus ride) from Seoul, on the[an error occurred while processing this directive] country's west coast, Boryeong is home to the soft and seemingly endless Daecheon Beach. From July 15-21, a section of this impressive, 13-km-long tidal flat will be the location of Mud Experience Land, the festival's heart — and despite all the talk of skin benefits, it's clear that most revelers are simply here to make a mess of themselves.

There'll be wrestling, sliding, massages, and photo contests, all taking place in mud dug up near Boryeong and moved to the beach. Look out for opening- and closing-night fireworks, as well as parades and cultural performances during the week. There's no need to fret about getting the mud out of your hair, either: showers at minimal cost are abundant, as are lockers that can be used to store a fresh set of clothes. Finally, after you've wallowed and lolled in Boryeong's thick gray ooze, you can pick up some of the locally made products — from mudpacks and mud shampoo to mud soap and mud sunblock. Or had you forgotten that these toiletries were your excuse for coming in the first place?