Heat, bugs and bad food plague World Scout Jamboree

Participants in the World Scout Jamboree are expressing concerns of the safety of the event after over 200 scouts from several countries fell ill due to the intense heat.

Amid temperatures exceeding 33 degrees Celsius (91.4 degrees Fahrenheit) across the country, participants of the 25th World Scout Jamboree find relief from the heat with water on Thursday at Saemangeum in Buan County, North Jeolla. [YONHAP]

Participants in the World Scout Jamboree are expressing concerns of the safety of the event after over 200 scouts from several countries fell ill due to the intense heat.

About 800 other participants were said to have reported other ailments, such as serious bug bites and sunburns.

Several scouts and their parents have shared their ordeals with local media, some describing instances of being served spoiled eggs for breakfast, having to camp on muddy grounds and enduring the absence of fans, let alone air conditioners, despite a heat wave.

No severe illnesses have been reported so far, though some scouts were said to have passed out.

According to officials, most heat-related symptoms were mild such as headache, dizziness and nausea. The sick scouts were sent to a makeshift hospital on the campgrounds or other medical facilities nearby to receive treatment.

The accounts came as nationwide temperatures hovered above 33 degrees Celsius (91.4 degrees Fahrenheit) in most areas on Thursday, some even surpassing 37 degrees.

The mercury in Buan County, North Jeolla, where the 25th World Scout Jamboree is being held, reached up to 35 degrees.

Officials warned the weather was likely to be similarly hot over the weekend, with no signs of cooling down next week.

The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters raised the nation’s heat wave response level to the second-highest Level 2 on Thursday.

The World Scout Jamboree is the world’s largest Scout event that takes place every four years across the world. This year’s event kicked off on Tuesday and is scheduled to last through Aug. 12 at Saemangeum, stretched along the country’s southwest coast.

It’s Korea’s second time hosting the World Scout Jamboree. The first time was in 1991 in Goseong County, Gangwon.

Over 43,000 people from nearly 160 countries have traveled to Korea for the Jamboree this year, with about 90 percent of the participants from overseas.

Organizing committee's denial The 25th World Scout Jamboree displayed troubling signs from the beginning.

As of Tuesday at 6 a.m., North Jeolla’s fire service said 11 participants have come down with heat-related illnesses. That figure rose to 21 as of 4 p.m. the same day before mushrooming to three-digit figures on Wednesday, as the opening ceremony was held that night.

The organizing committee said in a Thursday morning press briefing that 108 participants reported heat-related illnesses during the opening ceremony, adding that they were among at least 207 heat-related patients counted at the Jamboree by Wednesday night.

Shower booths at the Jamboree [LEE HYUN-UN]

Choi Chang-haeng, secretary general of the Jamboree organizing committee, said some programs were canceled on Wednesday night out of precaution. Choi, however, adamantly denied accusations that the scouts were exposed to a dangerous environment.

“The participants traveled from far away, and I think we’re seeing many patients because they’re not used to [Korea’s] weather,” said Choi.

Asked why so many scouts fell ill during the opening ceremony despite the fact that it was held at night, Choi blamed the K-pop concert.

“There was a K-pop performance [during the opening ceremony], which led [the scouts] to expend energy and deplete their physical strength.”

Choi said the situation “can happen in any country that hosts the Jamboree,” adding that the number of participants falling ill to the heat wasn’t “too far off from our expectations.”

An official in the organizing committee was quoted by the JoongAng Ilbo, on the condition of anonymity, as saying that none of the scouts who fell ill due to a heat-related illness was in severe condition.

“Some media outlets are only mentioning the sheer number [of patients], creating an exaggerated perception,” said the official.

Growing troubles

Many scouts appear to disagree.

A female scout tweeted about her sunburned skin itching and mentioned ambulance cars patrolling the campgrounds past midnight to attend to the sick.

A screenshot of a scout’s tweet which includes a photo of the breakfast she was served on Thursday morning [TWITTER SCREENSHOT]

In another tweet on Thursday, she uploaded a photo of her breakfast, which showed some cereal in a milk carton. Her tweet read, “This is the breakfast officially served by Saemangeum Jamboree. I don’t know if they will offer anything else.”

The Twitter account was deleted a few hours later.

A parent whose child is a scout in the Jamboree told an MBC radio show on Thursday that apart from the heat, he wasn’t receiving enough beverages or food from the organizers. The parent also complained about the small size of the sleeping tents and an insufficient number of restrooms.

Some boiled eggs handed out to the scouts for breakfast had fungi, prompting an investigation from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety.

None of the scouts were said to have actually eaten the eggs.

Lee Hyun-un, whose child is also participating in the Jamboree, told the JoongAng Ilbo the scouts were suffering from bugs, especially mosquitoes.

“I was told the ground is so muddy that if you step on it, your feet sink. The conditions seem extremely poor,” said Lee, adding that the shower booths are divided by a piece of fabric. “To drink water, you have to walk over 30 minutes to the nearest convenience store.”

Among nine friends that Lee’s child went with, six had already gone home.

“I’m going to pick him up during the weekend,” said Lee.

Government intervenes Lee Sang-min, minister of the interior and safety, demanded the organizing committee formulate stringent safety measures for the scouts and ensure that no one falls into severe condition or dies.

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo ordered Kim Hyun-sook, minister of gender equality and family, who co-chairs the Jamboree organizing committee, to stay on the campgrounds until the end of the event on Aug. 12 and make sure that ice is sufficiently provided to the participants.

Han also instructed the Ministry of National Defense to lend facilities to the Jamboree such as shade tents and shower booths, and dispatch military personnel to enhance emergency response capabilities.

In a statement, a spokesperson for Britain’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said on Thursday that they were monitoring the situation “closely” and that consular officials were dispatched to the campgrounds.

“Consular officials are on site to support attendees as planned and in line with standard practice for such events,” the statement read. “We are in regular contact with both Scouts UK and the Korean authorities to ensure the safety of British nationals.”

BY LEE SUNG-EUN [lee.sungeun@joongang.co.kr]