/countries/show/south-korea/1.rss en-us Boryeong Mud Festival in Boryeong, South Korea, is a great event for foreigners, Koreans, families, and just about everybody in between. If you are wondering what the Boryeong Mud Festival is; basically the name says it all. It's a festival involving all kinds of mud activities. In addition to all the mud, this distinctive affair shares live entertainment, music, contests, exciting nightlife, and fireworks. Over this nine day, two-weekend span in mid-to late July, foreigners and Koreans descend on Daecheon Beach for the Boryeong Mud Festival in Seoul.     The Boryeong Mud Festival is a young festival that has been gaining popularity every year over its thirteen years of existence. Boryeong, about an hour or two-hour drive (depending on traffic) south of Seoul, is known in and around Korea to have mud that is very healthy for your skin. Because of this, the City of Boryeong decided to invent the Mud Festival in 1997. For the Boryeong Mud Festival, Seoul brings mud from several areas around the city to Daecheon Beach. The mud is so accessible in this region that the festival is entirely free. As time passed, more and more Korean people began to attend the Festival, and from there, foreigners began to hear about this event. Since that moment, this Korean Mud Festival has become a staple on many people's calendars.  Although there isn't a main attraction, so to speak, there are so many activities and forms of entertainment that each visitor to this festival of mud leaves with their own definition of "main attraction." Attendees are able to choose from different activities, including painting themselves and each other with mud-covered paint brushes, and trying their luck at some mud wrestling. Other incredible actives include group workouts in the mud on the beach, jumping into a mud bath, sliding down a gigantic blow up mud slide, and dancing on the beach dance floor while being sprayed by mud hoses. After spending hours in the hot sun, exhausting yourself with the great activities, you can go for a swim in the beautiful ocean to cool off, and even clean off. The layout couldn't be any more perfect for this type of event. Once the sun has begun to set on a gorgeous, muddy summers day in Boryeong, everyone heads back to their respective hotel, motel or min-bat (a room that holds 4-6 people and has no bed but single, thin mats that you can sleep on) to shower and get ready for an entertaining evening. As people flood to the handful of streets along the beach area, restaurants begin to fill and there is a tremendous vibe in the air. Music is playing, people are everywhere and, best of all—everyone is in good spirits.   Upon the conclusion of dinner, many people head to the non-muddy area of the beach with drinks in hand waiting in anticipation for the fireworks display to begin. The fireworks are over the water and light up the beach to the crowd’s approval. From here, there are carnival-type games along some of the streets that are popular with families and young adults. Then there are also numerous bars with dance floors that fill to capacity fairly quickly. And then there is always the safe bet of heading back to your room to get a good night’s sleep and prepare to do it all over again the next day. While attending the Boryeong Mud Festival you need to make sure you let loose, socialize with as many people as possible, have an incredible time at one of the greatest and most hidden festivals in the world… and of course... GET MUDDY!!!! Before long, word got around that this is THE festival to attend for anyone teaching or living in Korea. The Boryeong Mud Festival is certainly a unique event that will be remembered as one of the best times you had during your stay in Korea. Tue, 17 May 2011 02:57:39 +0000 http://www.thecircumference.org/experiences/boryeong-mud-festival http://www.thecircumference.org/experiences/boryeong-mud-festival Thinking of teaching English abroad but finding yourself with various unanswered questions? Well, I can tell you in three words that teaching abroad is a great and popular experience... it's 'a simple life.' There are various reasons why people decide to pick up and leave the comforts of their homes in order to experience working in a different country. First, many individuals see teaching English abroad as a win-win situation. You have the opportunity to leave home while experiencing a new culture. Some may simply just need a change of scenery. Others will use this opportunity to try and save money to travel or pay off debt. Finally, numerous people will decide to teach English abroad simply because it is new, exciting and different from the everyday norm. There are also many questions that go along with researching options for teaching English abroad. What skills do I need? Where should I go? How do I get there? When should I be looking for a job? Who should I contact to apply? And lastly, why should I experience teaching abroad? The most obvious skill that one must possess is that you are fluent in the specific language the school is specializing in. For English, an applicant must be from a country where English is the native language. For example, to teach English abroad you must be from Canada, America, the United Kingdom, South Africa, Australia or New Zealand. In many countries, another main qualification schools are looking for is a university degree. Both three and four year degrees are accepted. If you have a college diploma, you must inquire with specific schools in regards to whether or not that is acceptable. Some schools will accept a college diploma and others will not. Additional skills that schools approve of include previous teaching experience, a Test of English as a Foreign Language Certificate (TOEFL) and a major discipline in English as part of your university education. Working with kids at a summer camp or whatnot can also give you the inside edge over other applicants. Looking for English teaching jobs abroad is easy-peezy, lemon-squeezy. There are many online websites that have hundreds of jobs available, as well as recruiters on these same websites where you can send your resume and preferences (hours, salary, location, etc.) and they will find a job for you. The schools, or your recruiter, will review your resume and photos and then contact you. Questions that you will be asked vary but usually consist of why you want to teach English abroad and your personal experiences with children. Any volunteer work with students, summer camp work with youngsters or even babysitting experience should be made known during the interview. Also, express your passion for children and excitement regarding living in a foreign country and learning about a new culture. These can all be very helpful in securing a position teaching English abroad. Now, you must decide where it is exactly that you want to teach. The lifestyle, culture, scenery, money, living conditions, etc., will all be factors in deciding where you want to teach English. Among English teachers around the world, it is generally known that South Korea is where you can SAVE the most money. You may be able to make more money in say Japan, but it costs a lot more for general expenses such as food, entertainment and nightlife. Look into a few specific factors when deciding where to teach English abroad. First, you must look into the safety of the country. This does not mean reading newspaper articles to determine the safety of the nation, but rather get in touch with people who have been or are currently stationed in that country. Second, you need to find out what the pay is like in comparison to the living expenses. Next, find out what perks will be given to you in each country. The number of vacation days, working hours, overtime pay, apartment fees and flight compensation should all be looked into. In South Korea, they pay for your flight there and upon the completion of a year contract they will also pay to fly you home. They will also give you a full month's salary bonus at the end of the year, as well as pay for your apartment for the entire year. You may be required to pay utilities but that is generally only around US$100 per month. Take all of these aspects of your contract into consideration when making your decision on where to teach English. Each country is clearly different but many places have a couple of dates on the calendar that are the best times to find a job. February and August are usually very popular times to find work, but there are always jobs available at any time of the year. It will just depend on the demand of the country at that particular time. Teaching English abroad takes a special person. There are three things you will have to do while teaching English abroad: 1 - Embrace and engage in the culture of your chosen country. 2 - Be open to meeting people from all over the globe. 3 - HAVE FUN! You're in control of your experience. If you want to have fun, you will come home with the greatest things to convey to friends and family. If you don't, it will be a long and annoying time in your country of choice. Hopefully this helps give you some insight into teaching abroad and more importantly the inside track to joining many others who enjoy 'a simple life' teaching English abroad. Thu, 30 Jul 2009 02:19:59 +0000 http://www.thecircumference.org/experiences/teach-english-abroad http://www.thecircumference.org/experiences/teach-english-abroad