One of Korea's biggest and best-loved summer festivals has kicked off.
The Boryeong Mud Festival burst into life on Friday.... and our reporter Kan Hyeong-woo is on Daecheon Beach in Chungcheongnam-do Province to give us a taste of the fun.
Hyeong-woo, the festival has a reputation for getting pretty wild,... but it's still early in the day,... how's the vibe down there?


Well, Mark. As you can see, it's already crowded. And people here are having a great time. Nearly everyone is slapping Boryeong's famous mud on their faces, clothes and bodies.


Marking its 21st edition this year, the Boryeong Mud Festival -- as you mentioned -- is one of the most popular events on the calendar for international visitors and expats in South Korea.
Last year, organizers say a staggering five-point-six million people came to the event. And six-hundred twenty-thousand of them --- well over ten percent -- were foreigners.

Daecheon Beach, where the event is taking place, offers a number of special experiences for everyone,… ranging from a marathon on mudflats to mud slides and mud body painting.

This year's event has around 70 different programs, including K-pop concerts and a Mud Beauty Festival.

First launched in 1998, the Boryeong Mud Festival started to promote the area's mud… which is packed full of minerals with medical and cosmetic qualities,.. but what started out small has grown bigger and bigger every year.

By the way,... if you really want to completely cake yourself in mud,... you can take turns pushing your friends and family into the giant mud bath.

This year's Boryeong Mud Festival runs through Sunday July 22nd. So... if you are interested,... you still have plenty of time left to get muddy and give your skin some extra glow.
Back to you, Mark.