Tash-Tastic in Chuncheon

Seeing as the Festival Season has officially hit Korea, it would feel rude not to get involved. Especially as  'the festivals of Korea are as vibrant and passionate as it's people!' (ooo la la). At least, that's what the board of tourism says. So the last month has been one big mix of music and arts festivals. Wonderful!

But it's not as easy as you might think. Korea goes a little festival crazy. There are festivals for everything...and I mean, everything. Kimchi festivals, butterfly festivals, herb festivals, green tea festivals, traditional tea bowl festivals, mud festivals, mime festivals, music festivals...the list goes on. Oh my! How can you tell which ones to go to? How can you tell which ones will be amazing and which ones will just be....well, a bit rubbish? It's a festival mine field out there.

Well, you do a fair amount of research into the festival events. You consider whether the place would actually be better without a shed loads of tourists, and look at the events lined up to see if any of it actually appeals. And just in case... have a back-up to save the day. A good fake moustache or bottle of tequila will do.

So last month saw in Seoul World DJ Festival, Ansan Street Arts Festival and the HBC Music Festival, and they were all amazing. This weekend was time for Chuncheon International Mime Festival. OK, a mime festival might sound a little random, but the festival holds all types of performance - dance, theatre, music, fire. Wowza. How can I refuse that? So we hopped on the bus, snoozed for four hours, and woke up in Chuncheon. Bring on the frivolities!

The place was a creative heaven. Loads of stalls were open for festival-goers to make their own decorations, and these were used to adorn the festival site. Masks, flags, paintings, signs. And lots of condoms. Condoms everywhere. Infact, it was probably more condom heaven than creative heaven.

There was even an outdoor Condom Gallery, placed between the family picnic area and the Womb Experience Programme. Bit weird? Yes. Especially when you realise that what these toddlers are holding are not balloons. And no, that’s not a balloon in the little girl's mouth. What the devil's going on here? According to the festival, it was 'to give youth a chance to experience a natural and healthy value for sex.... Through the making process, we will let youth feel the dignity and responsibility of life.' Unfortunately, I don't think dignity is what happened.

Soon enough we were distracted by the group of suit-wearing business men who started doing the sperm dance. Despite the weirdness, I liked these guys. It must take a lot of guts to get up and pretend to be sperm.

And so the festival continued. A lot of different acts, all quite strange. But soon enough we had exhausted all the stalls, seen enough weirdness to fill a lifetime, and were twiddling our thumbs a little when there they were.......THE TASH'S. I never knew it before, but donning a fake moustache gives you power. It gives you confidence. It gives you authority. And er, a lot of people laughing at you.

We finally left the festival to go eat dinner. Seeing as Chuncheon is the home of Dak Galbi, we settled for a nice family restaurant and strolled in nonchalantly with our tash's. The Koreans gawped until we realised that moustaches are really hard to eat with (how do men do it?) and so took them off. And underneath was a tash-shaped red line. Great, a tash rash. The best way to end a festival.

Festival Fan?

'Visit Korea' has an interactive map to show all the festivals in Korea, according to month and location. It's easy to use, and shows all the info you need on each festival. Woo! Take a look here