Already compromised by the sweltering summer heat, the 2023 edition of the World Scout Jamboree in South Korea has been further disrupted by the approach of powerful typhoon Khanun, and tarnished by suspicions of misappropriation of public funds.
Tropical storm Khanun, with its torrential rains and winds exceeding 150 km per hour, forced authorities to evacuate the 37,000 young people and volunteers from 150 countries who had gathered for the 25th World Scout Jamboree in Saemangeum, North Jeolla Province, on Tuesday, August 8. They boarded the 971 buses provided, in addition to 273 police cars and four helicopters, and were taken to 128 sites in Seoul and seven other provinces, where they will stay until the official end of the event on August 12.
The Scout motto might be "be prepared," but this event has taken an unexpected turn. Right from the start of the meeting, on August 1, the Scouts had to contend with the sweltering South Korean summer heat, without sufficient resources to keep hydrated and cool. Even health services were lacking: only 50 beds were available in the hospital set up on the site. Hundreds of young people suffered from heatstroke.
Added to this were food safety issues, showers in tents that let in prying eyes, and the incessant onslaught of swarms of mosquitoes. The situation was so serious that British, American and Singaporean Scouts left the site on August 4. It also forced President Yoon Suk-yeol to interrupt his week's vacation to rebuke the authorities and call on them to do everything in their power to protect the youngsters. Questions are being asked about the reasons for the lack of preparations.
The event had a budget of 117.1 billion won (€81 million), to cover the costs of organization, site operation and the K-pop concert scheduled to close the jamboree, which is held every four years.
It would appear that officials from the ministry of gender equality and family, and others from Northern Jeolla, made dozens of trips abroad, for reasons which remain unclear. Five officials from the province, for example, spent eight days in Switzerland and Italy in May 2018, a trip punctuated by visits to Interlaken, Lucerne, Milan and Venice. Switzerland and Italy have never hosted jamborees, however. Other trips have included cruises – again, a far cry from a scout gathering.
A North Jeolla official earnestly explained that they had used the trips to conduct research to "develop Saemangeum's tourism and leisure industry, in addition to preparing for the jamboree".
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