Looking for places to go during summer vacation? The Korea Herald has compiled a list of interesting festivals across the peninsula for visitors to see, taste and enjoy the summer fun. 

Boryeong Mud Festival

Since it began in 1998, the annual Boryeong Mud Festival has been perhaps the premiere event for those from abroad, attracting around 300,000 foreign visitors each year to the country’s western coast for a week filled with muddy fun.

The upcoming 19th festival kicks off on July 15 and runs through July 24 for a 10 day run at Daecheon Beach and Boryeong city in South Chungcheong Province.

It features a variety of events, including body painting, games in the mud, hip-hop concerts and more. People can also enjoy a tomato-throwing program on the second day of the festival, thanks to an agreement signed in 2010 with Bunol, the Spanish town famed for its tomato festival.

Other attractions near the beach include fishing at Daecheon harbor, located 1 kilometer from the beach, and foreshore activities on Muchangpo Beach. For more information, visit www.mudfestival.or.kr.

Yeongwol Donggang Festival

Yeongwol, a county in Gangwon Province known for rafting, launched the Yeongwol Donggang Festival in 1997 amid its lush mountains and wild rivers.

Besides rafting down the famous Donggang River, visitors can enjoy an array of programs, including bare-handed trout fishing, hang gliding and fireworks. They can also get a glimpse of traditional activities there, including tasting food cooked using the “samgut” method, steaming hemp to make linen and log rafting, a major means of transportation in the area until the 1960s.

The festival takes place at the riverside of the Donggang River from July 27 to 31. For more information, visit http://ywcf.or.kr/ywfestival.php.

Gangjin Celadon Festival

Chosen as the country’s best festival nine times since 2002, the 44th Gangjin Celadon Festival offers a variety of programs for visitors to engage in. Some make their own pottery on a wheel, while others buy beautiful celadon pieces at discounted prices. There is also a celadon-carrying parade and other traditional performances. 

Children can also have fun. There are waterslides, character-themed photo zones and dinosaur models on display. For camping aficionados, outdoor camping sites, caravans and cooking and shower areas are available.

The festival runs from July 30 to Aug. 7 at Gangjin’s Goryeo Celadon Kiln Site in South Jeolla Province. For more information, visit www.gangjinfes.or.kr.

Hamyang Wild Ginseng Festival

Hamyang County, South Gyeongsang Province, one of the few areas within the peninsula that cultivates high quality “wild” ginseng, invites visitors for a festival dedicated to its herbal medicine.

This year’s Hamyang Wild Ginseng Festival is scheduled for July 29 to Aug. 2. As a health food festival, visitors can not only purchase ginseng at good prices, but also learn about ginseng, eat foods made of wild ginseng and also search for the roots in the mountains with the help of professional diggers.

The area, stretching out to the Jirisan and Deogyusan mountains, is also a perfect cool getaway for visitors to take a break from big city life and get some fresh air. For more information, visit www.sansamfestival.com/eng.

Busan Sea Festival 

As the perfect festival to cool off the summer heat, the Busan Sea Festival will kick off this year in the hottest month, August.

Since its inception in 1996, the festival, which was originally organized to promote tourism to the nation’s largest port city of Busan, has grown as the city’s major festival, inviting visitors of all ages.

A weeklong festival features water sports activities such as swimming, yachting and windsurfing, as well as a series of smaller festivals like the Busan International Rock Festival and Hip-hop Festival.

The 21st Busan Sea Festival starts from Aug. 1 to 7, at various beaches across Busan, including Haeundae, Gwangalli, Songdo, Dadaepo and Songjeong. For more information, visit www.seafestival.co.kr/eng.

Chuncheon Dakgalbi & Makguksu Festival

The Chuncheon Dakgalbi & Makguksu Festival, a Korean food festival featuring the two signature local dishes of Chuncheon takes place in front of Chuncheon Station from Aug. 23 to 28 this year.

Dalkgalbi, created in the 1960s, is a mix of chicken marinated in chili pepper paste with tteok rice cakes, sweet potato, scallions, onions and perilla leaves stir-fried on a hot plate. Makguksu, which can be traced back to the 10th century, is a buckwheat noodle dish served with chilled broth, similar to the Korean cold noodle dish naengmyeon. The two dishes can be eaten together or separately.

Visitors will not go home hungry at the festival, as there are free samples of dalkgalbi and makguksu, as well as lines of restaurant stalls to serve the dishes. Visitors can also participate in other food-themed events, such as the Makguksu Speed-eating Contest, Local Cuisine Cooking Contest and music and sports events.

Besides the festival, there is always something to do in Chuncheon, which has become a popular tourist attraction since hit TV drama “Winter Sonata” was filmed there in 2002. Take the city tour bus and go sightseeing around the city, including Soyang River Dam, Cheongpyeongsa Temple and Kim Yu-jeong Literature Village, among others. For more information, visit www.mdfestival.com.

By Kim Soo-hyang (shkim@heraldcorp.com) and Lee Ja-hye (jahye@heraldcorp.com)