Pictures: Boryeong Mud Festival

Festivalgoers wrestled in the mud during the 15th Annual Boryeong Mud Festival at Daecheon Beach on July 14 in Boryeong, South Korea. About 2 million to 3 million domestic and international tourists visit the beach during the annual festival, which runs through July 24.

The hair braids of a tourist after she played in mud.

The festival features mud wrestling, mud sliding and a mud king contest.

A man with his face covered with mud.

A couple with their bodies painted with colored mud strolled along Daecheon Beach.

A tourist with his body painted with colored mud.

Tourists took a muddy water shower.

The mud, which is believed to have beneficial effects on the skin due to its mineral content, is sourced from mud flats near Boryeong and transported to the beach by truck.

Tourists played in a pool of mud on Sunday.

The annual festival aims to encourage the use of mud for cosmetic skin-care and to promote tourism in the region.

A couple played in mud.

A woman played in mud during the Boryeong Mud Festival at Daecheon beach in Boryeong, about 118 miles southwest of Seoul.

A tourist reacted after being covered in mud.

An abundance of mud dripped from one tourist’s hair.