韓國泥巴狂歡節 遊客盡享泥巴樂

For nine days of dirty fun, a quaint South Korean coastal city paints the town a dull shade of mud.

Boryeong says its mud has special powers to refresh the skin and soothe the soul. Last Saturday (July 12) saw the start of its 11th annual Mud Festival, which attracts about 2 million people to the city of a little more than 100,000 located about 190 km (120 miles) southwest of Seoul.

"The mud makes people friendly," said Angela Sharp, a US Air Force service member stationed in South Korea who is one of the tens of thousands of foreigners attending the festivities.

One part of the festival gives visitors the chance to play in the greyish goo at mud wrestling pits, mud slides and mud baths. Somewhere along the line, ample supplies of alcohol add to the high spirits.

The other part of the festival is pitching beauty and skincare products made with mud from the nearby mudflats.

"Boryeong's mud is different from other mud," said local mud entrepreneur Kim Song-soo.

One skincare maker writes proudly in English on the label of its products: "Natural mud from Boryeong is helpful in calming, smoothing and water balancing."

The mud festival ritual is pretty much the same for all visitors. Step one: arrive in clean clothes. Step two: get muddy, often while enjoying a tasty beverage.

"Foreigners heard that there is a place to come get muddy, get messy, and get drunk," said Boryeong resident Kim Ja-gyeong, adding that over time the locals have learned to accommodate the occasionally off-putting antics of their foreign counterparts.

On Boryeong streets, men and women in bathing suits, their skin identical shades of grey, dried mud, pump about 53 billion won ($52.75 million) into the local economy each year, local officials said.

Convenience store operators say sales usually double or triple during the festival.

歷時九天的“泥巴狂歡節”在韓國一座“奇特”的海濱城市拉開帷幕，一時間整個小城似乎也被塗上了一層灰泥。

據舉辦第十一屆“泥巴狂歡節”的保寧市稱，當地的泥巴具有煥膚和安神的特殊功效。韓國一年一度的“泥巴狂歡節”於上週六（7月12日）在保寧市開幕，吸引了約200萬人前來參加。保寧市位於首爾西南部約190公里（合120英里）處，本地人口十萬出頭。

前來參加狂歡節的還有很多外國人。美國駐韓空軍軍官安琪拉•夏普說：“泥巴狂歡節讓人與人之間變得更加友好了。”

在“泥巴狂歡節”的其中一項活動中，遊客們可以在泥巴池裏摔跤、衝泥流和洗泥巴浴，盡享玩泥樂趣。而在這些場地周圍，還備有充足的酒水爲人們助興。

在另一項活動中，遊客可以親身體驗由附近泥灘的海泥製成的美容和護膚產品。

當地一家“泥制美容產品”企業的負責人金鬆蘇說：“保寧的泥跟其他地方的泥不一樣。”

一家護膚品生產商還自豪地在其產品標籤上註上了英文說明：“保寧天然泥具有舒緩肌膚、保持肌膚嫩滑和水平衡之功效。”

所有參加“泥巴狂歡節”的遊客都要遵守以下“規則”：

第一步：衣裝整潔到達現場。第二步：往身上抹泥，可以一邊享受酷飲。

保寧市市民金亞寧說：“很多外國人都聽說有一個地方可以讓人渾身塗滿泥巴地盡情玩樂，還能在這裏一醉方休。”他還說，時間長了，當地居民對外國人的一些令人不快的古怪行爲也慢慢習慣了。

當地官員稱，在保寧的大街上隨處可以身穿泳衣、渾身塗滿灰色幹泥的男男女女，這些人每年爲當地帶來約530億韓元（5275萬美元）的經濟收入。

便利商店的老闆們說，“泥巴狂歡節”期間商店的營業額通常是平時的兩到三倍。

Vocabulary:

off-putting: tending to disconcert or repel（令人不愉快的）