Rotorua Daily Post
  • Rotorua Daily Post home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Residential property listings
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Rural
  • Sport

Locations

  • Tauranga
  • Te Puke
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Tokoroa
  • Taupō & Tūrangi

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales

Weather

  • Rotorua
  • Tauranga
  • Whakatāne
  • Tokoroa
  • Taupō

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Rotorua Daily Post

Rotorua council buys $90K worth of South Korean mud for festival

Stephanie Arthur-Worsop
By Stephanie Arthur-Worsop
News Director, Rotorua Daily Post·Rotorua Daily Post·
26 Jul, 2017 07:00 PM2 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Festival-goers enjoy the mud during the annual Boryeong Mud Festival last week. Photo / Getty Images

Festival-goers enjoy the mud during the annual Boryeong Mud Festival last week. Photo / Getty Images

Five tonnes of South Korean mud will be imported to Rotorua for the first five Mudtopia Festivals, at a cost of about $90,000.

The Rotorua Lakes Council's mud powder supply agreement with the Boryeong Mud Festival Foundation was signed by Rotorua Mayor Steve Chadwick and Boryeong Mayor Kim Dong-il in South Korea last week.

The council will buy "five tonnes of the mud powder for use in the opening years for Mudtopia", council major events co-ordinator Jason Cameron confirmed yesterday in response to Rotorua Daily Post questions.

But Chadwick said the $90,000 was "not council spending".

The festival has received $1.5 million from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment's major events development fund over five years for Mudtopia as well as support from sponsors and funders.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.


Read more:
• Rotorua councillor Trevor Maxwell defends Korean mud deal

Chadwick said the deal with Boryeong could see Rotorua mud being exported to South Korea.

The Boryeong mud will make up about 16 per cent of the mud used in the inaugural Mudtopia Festival in Rotorua this December. The rest will come from a local quarry, rather than from any protected geothermal features.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The event will use about 10 tonnes of mud in the first year.

Cameron said the Boryeong mud is sourced from coastal areas of Daecheon Peninsula and will provide visitors to Mudtopia with a different type of mud for a "hands-on experience".

But he said Rotorua geothermal mud, in the form of thermal clay, would be the main attraction at Mudtopia. Council staff and contractors are working with the Ministry for Primary Industries on border requirements to bring the Boryeong mud powder into New Zealand.

"It will undergo stringent tests, radiation and heating treatment to ensure it meets the ministry's standards."

Discover more

Opinion: Wading into Rotorua's mud row

31 Jul 06:00 PM
New Zealand

Mudtopia festival could lose $575k in first year

03 Aug 01:41 AM

Chadwick said there were no plans to "take Boryeong's festival and plonk it in Rotorua".

"Our festival will be done the Rotorua way."

Mudtopia will be at the Rotorua racecourse from December 1-3 and will include a mud-arena, spa and wellness experiences, as well as a concert headlined by Kiwi band Shapeshifter. Tickets are available from Ticketmaster.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Rotorua Daily Post

Rotorua Daily Post

'Stop this madness': Police promise crackdown on illegal dirt bikers

10 Jul 03:52 AM
Rotorua Daily Post

Midweek windfall: Winning Lotto ticket sold in Rotorua

10 Jul 02:37 AM
Rotorua Daily Post

Heavy rain warning likely for BoP – MetService

10 Jul 12:40 AM

From early mornings to easy living

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Rotorua Daily Post

'Stop this madness': Police promise crackdown on illegal dirt bikers

'Stop this madness': Police promise crackdown on illegal dirt bikers

10 Jul 03:52 AM

Several parks and reserves have been vandalised in recent weeks.

Midweek windfall: Winning Lotto ticket sold in Rotorua

Midweek windfall: Winning Lotto ticket sold in Rotorua

10 Jul 02:37 AM
Heavy rain warning likely for BoP – MetService

Heavy rain warning likely for BoP – MetService

10 Jul 12:40 AM
Rotorua council takes back control of parking services

Rotorua council takes back control of parking services

09 Jul 09:40 PM
Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Rotorua Daily Post e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Rotorua Daily Post
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP