World Scout Jamboree becomes Korea's worst nightmare

Questions have been raised as to how the World Scout Jamboree has reached a point of being an international embarrassment despite Korea spending nearly 100 billion won since it won the bid in 2017.

Some of the scouts lie in sick beds at a temporary hospital set up at the Saemangeum camping ground in Buan County, North Jeolla, on Thursday. [YONHAP]

The World Scout Jamboree was supposed to be a major international celebration and a boost for Korea's bid for the World Expo in Busan.

Instead, it turned into a fiasco as nations start to pull out of the event.

It all began when Britain announced Friday that it was withdrawing its team from the Jamboree site in Saemangeum, Buan County, North Jeolla to hotels in Seoul to "alleviate pressure on the site,"

The United States and Singapore soon announced that they, too, would be pulling out their scouts.

Prompting the withdrawals were health concerns, especially for scouts aged 14 to 17, many of whom had fallen ill from the scorching heat as temperatures hovered close to 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit).

At least 2,500 scouts had fallen sick as of Sunday.

The daily sick count is quickly rising, too.

On Wednesday, there were 400 patients, and by Thursday, the official opening day of the Jamboree, that number had doubled to over 900.

On Friday, it spiked even further to over 1,400.

Common ailments include bug bites, skin rashes and heat exhaustion. To make matters worse, a Covid-19 outbreak has been raging at the site since Thursday.

With the World Scout Jamboree in shambles, more countries may decide to withdraw their scouts as health concerns mount.

British scouts pack their bags preparing to leave the camping grounds of the World Scout Jamboree at Saemangeum in North Jeolla on Saturday. [YONHAP]

Pulling out

Britain had the largest number of scouts attending the Jamboree at roughly 4,500, nearly 10 percent of the total number of scouts participating.

“We understand that a decision has been taken by Scouts UK to relocate British scouts from the World Scout Jamboree at Saemangeum to Seoul,” a spokesperson from the British Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office told the Korea JoongAng Daily on Friday evening.

The spokesperson added that the British Embassy in Korea “remains in close contact with Scouts UK and will continue to provide support where required.”

The delegation’s decision was confirmed by the World Organization of the Scout Movement in a statement issued Friday night.

“We have been informed that the Contingent from the United Kingdom has decided to depart from the Jamboree campsite early, allowing Scouts to continue their Jamboree experience in Seoul until they are scheduled to travel home,” the organization said.

The British Scout delegation is scheduled to depart from Korea on Aug. 13.

Hours later, the United States announced they were pulling out as well.

The U.S. contingent said they have decided to move to U.S. Army Garrison Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi, on Sunday and stay there until Aug. 11, after taking part in Jamboree programs on Saturday.

“The U.S. Contingent to the World Scout Jamboree has made the difficult decision that we will be departing the 25th World Scout Jamboree site early because of ongoing extreme weather and resulting conditions at the jamboree site,” read an email sent to parents by the U.S. Contingent media team, according to Reuters.

A parent whose child is part of the U.S. team confirmed to the Korea JoongAng Daily that the group would be departing from the campsite on Sunday.

Buses line up to withdraw scouts from the camp site at Saemangeum, North Jeolla, on Saturday. [YONHAP]

Problem-plagued Jamboree

With conditions at the Jamboree likened to a refugee camp, and a Democratic Party (DP) spokesperson even calling the event a "real life Squid Game," some parents are worrying about their children's safety.

Chang Kim, who lives in California, told the Korea JoongAng Daily in an email that his 15-year-old daughter, who joined the Jamboree as part of the U.S. team, fainted due to the heat.

“According to the adult leader, it took 45 minutes for an ambulance to arrive. This is unbelievable when everyone there knew the temperature was going to be an issue,” Kim said.

Kim said his daughter was better now that she’s been in the air-conditioned makeshift hospital but was facing a new problem: food.

“I heard that because of the Korean president attending the opening [ceremony], all the Korean staff were busy catering to him and his wife so they couldn’t help the scouts and adult leaders from other countries,” he added.

“Most of the scouts didn’t get a chance to eat that night.”

At the hospital, Kim said his daughter was being offered bread. Only after he and his wife begged doctors to provide her with some food was she offered cup noodles.

The organizing committee was not immediately available for comment.

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo with scouts from the World Scout Jamboree at Saemangeum, North Jeolla, on Saturday. The central government stepped in to salvage the sinking event. [YONHAP]

All hands on deck

The World Scout Jamboree, held in Saemangeum since Wednesday and scheduled to continue until Aug. 12, is the biggest gathering since its inception, with more than 43,000 scouts from 159 countries gathered at the reclaimed land in North Jeolla.

However, with more and more people falling ill and the event at risk of being an international disgrace, the organizing committee and the local government are scrambling to respond while the central government performs emergency damage control.

Acting on direct orders from President Yoon Suk Yeol, who started his seven-day vacation on the day of the Jamboree's opening ceremony on Wednesday, the government provided an "unlimited" supply of air-conditioned buses and refrigerator trucks to the camping ground at Saemangeum.

The government allocated 6.9 billion won ($5.3 million) in reserve funds for necessary assistance.

Some 130 air-conditioned buses and 50 portable toilets arrived Friday.

Additionally, the number of people in charge of cleaning and maintaining the toilets and shower rooms was increased to a minimum of 700, 10-fold the previous 70. The government also dispatched bug exterminators to address the insect problem.

The government used the additional budget to supply each person with five bottles of frozen water, cooling facial masks, sunscreen, ice packs and sodium pills.

More than 40 doctors were sent to the camping site, and the operating hours of the five clinics set up at Saemangeum were extended by two hours until midnight.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs joined the crisis management efforts on Friday. They set up an emergency task force to relay concerns raised by foreign embassies regarding the safety and well-being of their nationals, including issues related to rations, sanitation and illnesses, to the organizing committee.

Foreign embassies reportedly struggled to reach the organizing committee, which was overwhelmed with managing the crisis.

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo offered additional assurances at a press conference held at the Jamboree on Friday.

"The central government will take full responsibility for the safety management and smooth operation of the event until the last participants leave Saemangeum," he said.

"With the Ministry of the Interior and Safety at the heart, all central government departments, including the Ministry of Defense, will work with other local governments to support the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family and the North Jeolla government and communicate with the World Organization of the Scout Movement."

As part of the government's pledge, Interior and Safety Minister Lee Sang-min set up camp on the site and will be stationed there for six days to manage the overall operation. North Jeolla Governor Kim Kwan-young, who has been staying at the camp since Thursday, will remain on the campground until the last day.

Additional ambulances were deployed Thursday in case of an emergency as the number of people suffering from heat exhaustion and bug bites have been surging. [YONHAP]

The image of the World Scout Jamboree at Saemangeum posted on the organizing comittee's Website [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Underprepared

The Korean government has spent nearly 100 billion won on the event, leading some people to wonder how things could have gotten so bad.

In particular, critics say the organizing committee has six years to prepare for the Jamboree after Korea's successful bid in 2017, during the previous administration.

The budget for the event even ballooned to 93.8 billion won, double the initial estimate of 49.1 billion won.

The organizing committee's website claims that the camping site will be the spot where "scouts from all over the world" will freely spread their dreams.

And yet, the organizing committee faces accusations of being poorly prepared.

The camping site itself has come under particular blame.

Saemangeum, reclaimed land on an estuarine tidal flat, is wide-open without a single tree.

The organizing committee emphasized the 1,722 large shades installed across the Saemangeum's camping grounds and 57 tunnels spraying mist.

However, it was not enough to keep the scouts from being exhausted in the sweltering heat and humidity.

Heavy downpours throughout the week before the start of the Jamboree turned the campsite into a muddy swamp.

The failure to complete a drainage system for the site prior to the Jamboree's start on Thursday helped provide a perfect habitat for mosquitoes and other bugs, making life for campers even worse.

For months, locals have been warning about the camping ground and the potential safety hazards, especially in May and June, given that the site had flooded several times before.

In particular, the site used for the camping grounds was reclaimed as agricultural land with a drainage system designed to handle 70 to 80 millimeters (2.7 to 3.1 inches) of rain.

Any more rain than that, and it floods. Which is exactly what happened right before the Jamboree.

In the week prior to the opening of the event, North Jeolla received over 500 millimeters of rain.

The North Jeolla government in June said it would complete the drainage system by the end of the month to prepare for potential flooding.

The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family and the organizing committee made similar pledges.

The issue was even raised last October during the National Assembly's annual government audit hearing.

DP Rep. Lee Won-taeg on Oct. 26 warned Gender Equality and Family Minister Kim Hyun-sook to double-check everything, including the facilities at the campground.

"Only 37 percent of the construction had been completed as of August [2022]," the DP lawmaker said. "The world, including teenagers around the world, will be looking at this event, and if not prepared, it could face serious adversities."

Choi Chang-haeng, secretary general of the World Scout Jamboree organizing committee, gives a press briefing Thursday. [YONHAP]

In denial

Even when signs of trouble appeared, organizers tried to downplay the seriousness of the situation.

Choi Chang-haeng, the general secretary of the organizing committee, on Wednesday, dismissed the illnesses the scouts were suffering as "mild."

Local politicians joined in, with a North Jeolla councilman Yeom Young-sun claiming Korean teenagers complain too much because they were pampered when growing up.

"In my view, it is a situation one can fully endure," Yeom wrote on North Jeolla Governor Kim's Facebook on Thursday. "The Jamboree is, most of all, not a vacation," Yeom wrote. "It is a program that pays for experiencing the overcoming of hardship."

He also noted that while many teenagers from overseas have slightly burned faces due to the heat, their faces are lit up.

Yeom claimed that while nights were humid, the wind brings temperatures down.

"There are the latest toilets and air-conditioned facilities," he added.

However, Yeom deleted the post just five hours later. Instead, he posted an apology to the students and their parents.

Lee Hoon, a Hanyang University professor of tourism, said the most important thing at this point is to focus on safety.

"The central and local government must work together to go through the Jamboree safely," Lee said. "It would be difficult to win another mega international event if we fail to overcome the crisis, as there has been a negative image of Korea's safety among foreign teenagers because of the Itaewon tragedy."

The professor was referring to the incident that happened last year during a Halloween weekend when a huge crowd squeezed into a narrow back alley in Itaewon, resulting in the death of 159 people, including 26 foreigners.

"There could be serious damage as the heat wave is forecast to continue," said Oh Ik-keun, professor emeritus in tourism at Keimyung University.

A heat shelter bus is prepared for participants at the World Scout Jamboree at Saemangeum in North Jeolla on Sunday. [YONHAP]

BY LEE HO-JEONG, LEE SUNG-EUN, MICHAEL LEE AND SARAH KIM [lee.hojeong@joongang.co.kr]