The summer has already begun, and the festival season is just around the corner.

A host of summer-getaway activities await to help you soak in the sun and cool off from the heat. The festivities range from shooting water guns and throwing mud to enjoying a diverse selection of food or taking part in explosive sing-along music parties.

Water festivals

Water fights have recently become popular summer festivities in Korea, but those looking for more diverse activities can muddy the waters in Boryeong.
The Sinchon Water Gun Festival invites Seoulites to fight the upcoming sweltering summer heat with water guns to relive their childhoods while they cool off.

For those who want to turn things up from water fights to full on water warfare, the Hangang Waterfight Festival is the one to go for. With electro hip-hop music blasting throughout the event, each team can turn into water warriors for some harmless but relentless water-based fun.

The Boryeong Mud Festival will also offer a host of activities not particularly about water, but pretty much anything that is related to mud. Mud wrestling, mud bouncy castles, mud massages and mud obstacle runs are among the activities that will draw thousands of tourists to Boryeong to appreciate the muddy madness.

Turn up the heat with music!

Music festivals, long considered a marker of the arrival of the summer season, are turning up the sound for this year’s summer festivals in Korea.
During the daytime, festivals are mostly about family-oriented and child-friendly performances along with amusement activities for relaxation. 

By evening, the sites transform into hard-core night parties filled with heated energy. Music genres range from K-pop or electronic dance music to hard-core rock.

The Ultra Music Festival, for example, is one of the top EDM festivals worldwide, and begins this weekend, running June 10-12. EDM music is set to heat up Jamsil Olympic Stadium and provide a getaway from the sweltering summer. 

For rock lovers, the Jisan Valley Rock Festival, the biggest rock festival in Korea, has an incredible lineup in store again this year with Red Hot Chili Peppers, Zedd, Disclosure and more.

It is not difficult to see excited, fired-up fans of Korean music festivals practicing singing along and memorizing lyrics before seeing the bands, just to get the full festival experience. 

“Usually I can sing along to my favorite musicians’ songs without preparing,” avid concertgoer Jang Hwang-gyu, 26, told The Korea Herald.

“In case I don’t (know much about the musician), I watch the clip of the musician’s live performances (and) listen to the songs until I get familiar with them, anticipating the sing-along at the upcoming gig.” 

By Bak Se-hwan (sh@heraldcorp.com)