The underprepared, heat-wave-battered World Scouts Jamboree 2023 in South Korea has yet another challenge hurling toward it: a storm that has already wrought havoc on Japan and Taiwan.
Severe Tropical Storm Khanun on Monday was forecast to shift its trajectory and hit the southern coast of South Korea as a typhoon by Thursday morning, before coursing up the peninsula into North Korea with weakened force.
Prior forecasts had put the season’s sixth typhoon veering eastward toward Japan’s main islands. The archipelago’s southwestern islands were pounded by Khanun’s wind and rain for days, causing at least three deaths and dozens of injuries. The slow-moving storm also caused disruption in Taiwan, triggering landslides and grounding flights.
The South Korean government is calling for nationwide vigilance after more than 40 people were killed in a powerful deluge last month.
It is also finalizing a contingency plan that would put into motion a massive exodus of young scouts from the Saemangeum campsite in the country’s southwest to destinations north. Starting at 10 a.m. Tuesday, some 36,000 young participants and volunteers from 156 countries will be moved from the official World Scout Jamboree site via 1,000 buses, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety said.
Government officials say they are working to secure shelter for the scouts in the Seoul capital region. District officials put out calls for families able to host scouts to volunteer for home stays.
Despite the changed location, the jamboree’s programming will continue, Vice Minister for Disaster & Safety Management Kim Sung-ho said.
A K-pop concert scheduled for Sunday at the jamboree was postponed due to heat safety concerns.
‘Disappointed, let down’
Britain’s scout contingent — the jamboree’s largest — announced it would withdraw its 4,500 participants from the Saemangeum delta on Friday, hoping to help ease pressure on the campsite.
The precautionary decision was made despite the South Korean prime minister’s visit to the sprawling campsite and a vow for “all out” central government support and management of the site that had been riddled with shortages in the days prior.
The U.S. followed suit on Sunday, relocating its 1,500-member group back to Camp Humphreys, a U.S. Army Garrison in Pyeongtaek, saying “extreme heat [continued] to stress the facilities and infrastructure of [the campsite].”
Both contingents had been in discussion with South Korea in the lead-up to the quadrennial event. And while tangible improvements to facilities and cooling infrastructure were made over the weekend, as well as pledges for private sector help via supplies and manpower, it was simply too little too late for some.
“We feel let down by the organizers because we repeatedly raised some of these concerns before we went and during,” Matt Hyde, who leads the U.K. contingent, said Monday from Seoul. “And we were promised things were going to be put in place and they weren’t.”
Hyde said it wasn’t just the record-breaking heat, but also the lack of well-maintained restrooms, food shortages for those with dietary requirements and inadequate medical services that ultimately led his contingent to make the difficult decision to cut short their jamboree and spend their remaining time in Seoul.
As local news channels led with fast-moving jamboree developments on its newscasts, South Koreans expressed shock at the lack of preparation for the outdoor event of such scale during a month known for its humidity and potential storms.
South Korea has been under the strongest heat wave in years, and hundreds of young people and volunteers sought treatment for heat-related illnesses since the World Scouts Jamboree began August 2.
Provincial governor Kim Kwan-young, a co-organizer, offered an apology over the weekend. At a Sunday press conference, Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min acknowledged the event was ill-prepared as he promised additional support.
Politicians promised a storm of a different kind. In a Facebook post, Kim Gi-hyeon, head of South Korea's ruling People Power Party, vowed to investigate how some $89 million allocated for jamboree preparation was spent once the global youth event comes to a close. He also pledged to prosecute anyone who may have profited unfairly.
“I would just encourage that there is a proper independent learning review, so we all capture lessons, whether that applies to future Jamborees or any other events ... because we cannot be put in this situation again,” said Hyde of the U.K. contingent. “It’s not fair to anyone.”
