South Korea's coastal city of Boryeong has signed a contract to export its famous mud to Rotorua in New Zealand's North Island, a city official said Monday.
Boryeong Mayor Kim Dong-il and Rotorua Mayor Steve Chadwick signed the contract on Saturday, under which the South Korean city will export 5 tons of mud powder worth 75 million won (about $67,000) to Rotorua, the official said. The signing was made on the sidelines of a world festival cities workshop, one of the programs which the ongoing 2017 Boryeong International Mud Festival is providing.
Boryeong Mayor Kim Dong-il (R) and Rotorua Mayor Steve Chadwick pose after signing a mud export contract in the South Korean city on July 22, 2017. (Photo courtesy of Boryeong) (Yonhap)
In addition, the Korean city will extend decades of its mud festival expertise to the New Zealand city, which is now preparing a mud festival in December, according to the official. Boryeong launched the mud festival in 1998, which has developed into a top international summer event with its mud flats attracting many tourists from around the world.
The contract is simply not a business exchanging products, but a venue for friendship between the peoples and cultural exchanges between the cities, said Mayor Steve, adding, "I feel heat from the fantastic mud festival in the beautiful Boryeong City."
The Boryeong mud festival kicked off for a 10-day run at Daecheon Beach in the namesake city, 190km south of Seoul, on Friday.
This year, the unique festival will present a total of 57 programs, ranging from bathing in a massive mud tub to mud massages, a mud photo contest, a marathon on the mud flats, a mud sliding competition, street parades and K-pop concerts.
The event's opening ceremony on Saturday night will be aired live as a special program on local TV, with the ceremony to feature Korean idol groups like Muses, Momoland, Block B Bastarz and EXID, as well as a war dance from the Maori tribe of New Zealand.
Thirty-three troupes will stage street performances, including magic, singing and dancing, throughout the festival.
Mud trams will also run on a 2.2-kilometer traffic-free road between the Mud Square and Civic Tower Square. (Yonhap)