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 at Daecheon Beach in Chungcheongnam-do Province to give us a taste of the fun.
Marking its 21st edition this year, the Boryeong Mud Festival 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 mud wrestling to mud slides and mud painting.

"It's amazing, yeah. I think the best thing is you got every kind of people together. You've got families, got Korean people, foreign people from every country in the world. And we are just all together.. having a good time."

This year's event has around 70 different programs,... including a mud flash mob and K-pop concerts.

"The mud festival is amazing. It's people from all over the world. It's mud, music....Boryeong Mud Festival is awesome "

First launched in 1998, the Boryeong Mud Festival was 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.

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...for anyone who's interested,... there is still plenty of time left to get muddy and put some extra glow on their skin.
Kan Hyeong-woo, Arirang News, Boryeong."