"Worst comes to worst, we'll get some prostitutes and call it a night."

That was the quote of the weekend overheard at Mudfest this past weekend, out on the west coast of the Korean peninsula. I'm fairly sure it was said by some US military guys I passed by them at around 2 AM. And it summed up the weekend pretty nicely.

What Mudfest is, is a gathering of Koreans and mainly foreigners in a small town on the coast. It is centerd around the healing and health properties of the areas mud. But what it actually is a poormans spring break, where Korea meets the Jersey Shore. It's a place where thousands of Military and teachers descend for a weekend of drinking and debauchery. For a weekend of losing their minds and catching up with friends from around the country. I have a few pictures of this weekend. But due to the environmental condidtions and my proclivity to lose things and or damage them I only have a small collection of photos. The rest of the time I was in the ocean, on the beach, in the mud, in the rain or trying to give myself alcohol poisoning. All of which don't mix with a 500 dollar camera

On Saturday night, the festival put on a fireworks show, then afterwords our buddy Rufus put on a fire show of his own. Previously on Saturday Rufus lost his glasses in the ocean and needed to borrow mine in order see. He said the biggest disappointment of his afternoon without sight was not being able to check out the ladies. Poor guy.

Here's a list of other things lost at Mudfest:
1. An Ipod (not mine...I lost mine a year ago and refuse to buy another piece of technology I will loose eventually.)
2. A drybag with money, ID card and 3 bank cards (which we found out were turned into the police and nothing was taken.)
3. Rufus' glasses
4. Dignity
5. Braincells.

It wouldn't be a Ben Koss blog with out a couple pictures of some of the local ladies. On Sunday afternoon the skies cleared up and the Mudfest organizers were kind enough to grace us with the presence of some random girl group which are so prevalent and popular in South Korea.



It's called Mudfest for a reason. There's mudpainting, mud slides of various sizes, mud wresting, mud prison, mud slinging, mud swimming, mud obstacle courses.


The place was packed. Not only with foreigners, but with Koreans, especially on Sunday. Koreans really like to play in the ocean and wear lots of clothes, since the sun is the devil. They also like to stay as close to each other possible. On any popular Korean beach you aren't allowed to swim out more that 40 feet, or you're headed back into the shallows, like a Japanese dolphin.

What I don't have pictures of is the day before when there were solid waves that were perfect for body surfing. Saturdays activities went like this: Drink, mud, swim, drink, mud swim. Until you were too cold or too drunk to function anymore and needed a hot shower and some food in your stomach to make you feel human again.


There were dozens of Korean Paparazzi around. I'm not sure if they were media or just hobbiests. But there were dozens of them. all with cameras worth thousands of dollars. My theory is they are Korean secret service and are being paid by the government to spy on foreigners.

Random girls exiting the obstacle course.

If you think I'm the only one with this photo, think again. There were about 15 people with a camera in this girls face. It was like seeing a Bear in Yellowstone....or seeing Brittney Spears get out of a car.
A couple of my favorite ladies on the beach. Koreans really don't like the sun, and they don't sweat either. These were a couple of secret service/photographers I befriended while they were cruising the beach looking people to photograph. Or they were bee keepers, I'm really not sure.

But all in all, it was a great weekend spent with some great friends. It was a great experience that I'm glad only comes around once a year. Right now my liver needs a break, I could use a some fruits and vegetables, and maybe a night or two in a temple to clean up my mind and body.

In other news I'm currently warming my desk like a pro. it's summer camp time in Korea. I teach from 9-12, then I'm required to stay at the school, even though there are no students or teachers. (This is the part where I should should bitch and moan about Korea, and I may dedicate a brief blog entry to this later this week...Lord knows I have the free time. ) This will go on for 3 weeks. Then I' off to Mongolia for 2 weeks of vacation. Then 3 weeks of teaching normal classes, then 1 week in Japan. I guess I have to take the good with the bad.