diff --git a/src/main/java/org/springframework/data/r2dbc/dialect/MySqlDialect.java b/src/main/java/org/springframework/data/r2dbc/dialect/MySqlDialect.java
index 4ae6f6f6..fd6168e3 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/springframework/data/r2dbc/dialect/MySqlDialect.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/springframework/data/r2dbc/dialect/MySqlDialect.java
@@ -20,13 +20,14 @@ import java.net.URI;
 import java.net.URL;
 import java.util.Arrays;
 import java.util.Collection;
-import java.util.Collections;
 import java.util.HashSet;
 import java.util.List;
 import java.util.Set;
 import java.util.UUID;
 
 import org.springframework.core.convert.converter.Converter;
+import org.springframework.data.convert.ReadingConverter;
+import org.springframework.data.convert.WritingConverter;
 import org.springframework.r2dbc.core.binding.BindMarkersFactory;
 
 /**
@@ -50,7 +51,8 @@ public class MySqlDialect extends org.springframework.data.relational.core.diale
 	/**
 	 * MySQL specific converters.
 	 */
-	private static final List<Object> CONVERTERS = Collections.singletonList(ByteToBooleanConverter.INSTANCE);
+	private static final List<Object> CONVERTERS = Arrays.asList(ByteToBooleanConverter.INSTANCE,
+			BooleanToByteConverter.INSTANCE);
 
 	/*
 	 * (non-Javadoc)
@@ -85,6 +87,7 @@ public class MySqlDialect extends org.springframework.data.relational.core.diale
 	 *
 	 * @author Michael Berry
 	 */
+	@ReadingConverter
 	public enum ByteToBooleanConverter implements Converter<Byte, Boolean> {
 
 		INSTANCE;
@@ -99,4 +102,21 @@ public class MySqlDialect extends org.springframework.data.relational.core.diale
 			return s != 0;
 		}
 	}
+
+	/**
+	 * Simple singleton to convert {@link Boolean}s to their {@link Byte} representation. MySQL does not have a built-in
+	 * boolean type by default, so relies on using a byte instead. {@literal true} maps to {@code 1}.
+	 *
+	 * @author Mark Paluch
+	 */
+	@WritingConverter
+	public enum BooleanToByteConverter implements Converter<Boolean, Byte> {
+
+		INSTANCE;
+
+		@Override
+		public Byte convert(Boolean s) {
+			return (byte) (s.booleanValue() ? 1 : 0);
+		}
+	}
 }
diff --git a/src/test/java/org/springframework/data/r2dbc/convert/MySqlMappingR2dbcConverterUnitTests.java b/src/test/java/org/springframework/data/r2dbc/convert/MySqlMappingR2dbcConverterUnitTests.java
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..27e088e6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/test/java/org/springframework/data/r2dbc/convert/MySqlMappingR2dbcConverterUnitTests.java
@@ -0,0 +1,118 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2021 the original author or authors.
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *      https://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+package org.springframework.data.r2dbc.convert;
+
+import static org.assertj.core.api.Assertions.*;
+
+import io.r2dbc.spi.test.MockColumnMetadata;
+import io.r2dbc.spi.test.MockRow;
+import io.r2dbc.spi.test.MockRowMetadata;
+import lombok.Value;
+
+import java.util.ArrayList;
+import java.util.Collections;
+import java.util.List;
+
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.BeforeEach;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
+
+import org.springframework.data.convert.CustomConversions;
+import org.springframework.data.r2dbc.dialect.MySqlDialect;
+import org.springframework.data.r2dbc.mapping.OutboundRow;
+import org.springframework.data.r2dbc.mapping.R2dbcMappingContext;
+import org.springframework.data.r2dbc.testing.OutboundRowAssert;
+import org.springframework.data.relational.core.mapping.RelationalMappingContext;
+
+/**
+ * MySQL-specific unit tests for {@link MappingR2dbcConverter}.
+ *
+ * @author Mark Paluch
+ */
+class MySqlMappingR2dbcConverterUnitTests {
+
+	private RelationalMappingContext mappingContext = new R2dbcMappingContext();
+	private MappingR2dbcConverter converter = new MappingR2dbcConverter(mappingContext);
+
+	@BeforeEach
+	void before() {
+
+		List<Object> converters = new ArrayList<>(MySqlDialect.INSTANCE.getConverters());
+		converters.addAll(R2dbcCustomConversions.STORE_CONVERTERS);
+		CustomConversions.StoreConversions storeConversions = CustomConversions.StoreConversions
+				.of(MySqlDialect.INSTANCE.getSimpleTypeHolder(), converters);
+
+		R2dbcCustomConversions customConversions = new R2dbcCustomConversions(storeConversions, Collections.emptyList());
+
+		mappingContext.setSimpleTypeHolder(customConversions.getSimpleTypeHolder());
+
+		converter = new MappingR2dbcConverter(mappingContext, customConversions);
+	}
+
+	@Test // gh-589
+	void shouldWriteBooleanToByte() {
+
+		BooleanMapping object = new BooleanMapping(0, true, false);
+		OutboundRow row = new OutboundRow();
+
+		converter.write(object, row);
+
+		OutboundRowAssert.assertThat(row).containsColumnWithValue("flag1", (byte) 1).containsColumnWithValue("flag2",
+				(byte) 0);
+	}
+
+	@Test // gh-589
+	void shouldReadByteToBoolean() {
+
+		MockRow row = MockRow.builder().identified("flag1", Object.class, (byte) 1)
+				.identified("flag2", Object.class, (byte) 0).build();
+
+		MockRowMetadata metadata = MockRowMetadata.builder()
+				.columnMetadata(MockColumnMetadata.builder().name("flag1").build())
+				.columnMetadata(MockColumnMetadata.builder().name("flag2").build()).build();
+
+		BooleanMapping mapped = converter.read(BooleanMapping.class, row, metadata);
+
+		assertThat(mapped.flag1).isTrue();
+		assertThat(mapped.flag2).isFalse();
+	}
+
+	@Test // gh-589
+	void shouldPreserveByteValue() {
+
+		WithByte object = new WithByte(0, (byte) 3);
+		OutboundRow row = new OutboundRow();
+
+		converter.write(object, row);
+
+		OutboundRowAssert.assertThat(row).containsColumnWithValue("state", (byte) 3);
+	}
+
+	@Value
+	private static class BooleanMapping {
+
+		Integer id;
+		boolean flag1;
+		boolean flag2;
+	}
+
+	@Value
+	private static class WithByte {
+
+		Integer id;
+		byte state;
+	}
+
+}