'Mud-slinging' was never this fun; Boryeong Mud Festival sees revellers go wild

The 21st annual mud festival features mud wrestling and mud sliding. (Photos: AP)

People play in a mud pool during the Boryeong Mud Festival at Daecheon Beach in Boryeong, South Korea.

The mud is considered rich in minerals and used to manufacture cosmetics. The festival was originally conceived as a marketing vehicle for Boryeong mud cosmetics.

The first Mud Festival was staged in 1998 and, by 2007, the festival attracted 2.2 million visitors to Boryeong.

Men wrestle in a mud pool during the Boryeong Mud Festival at Daecheon Beach in Boryeong, South Korea.

For the period of the festival several large attractions are erected in the seafront area of Daecheon. These include a mud pool, mud slides, mud prison and mud skiing competitions. Colored mud is also produced for body painting. A large stage is erected on the beach, which is used for live music, competitions and various other visual attractions.

The mud is taken from the Boryeong mud flats, and trucked to the Daecheon beach area, where it is used as the centrepiece of the 'Mud Experience Land'.