The Jamboree, a major international scouting celebration held this year in South Korea, will end earlier than expected due to a typhoon warning in the country, the World Organisation of the Scout Movement announced on Monday.
“The World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM) received confirmation this morning from the Government of the Republic of Korea that due to the expected impact of Typhoon Khanun, an early departure will be planned for all participants at the 25th World Scout Jamboree from the campsite in SaeManGeum,” a press release from the Scouts reads.
As a result of the cancellation of the event, 1,250 Belgian scouts will be evacuated from the country. The Belgian contingent is in contact with the Belgian embassy in Seoul, and is currently holding meetings regarding possible evacuation plans in the coming hours, said Baptiste Legast, French-speaking spokesperson for the scouts.
After a wave of problems sent many participants to hospital, this year’s jamboree has been described as an “international disgrace” by local Korean media. Beset by problems, the festival has now turned into a political scandal in Korea, with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol cancelling his holiday and returning to the country to coordinate relief efforts.
Credit: Belga
The celebrations were significantly disrupted by a record heatwave, with temperatures reaching up to 38°C. Around 600 of the 40,000 young participants of the event fell ill as a result of heatstroke or other heat-related illnesses. Ambulances were apparently slow to reach their patients.
Living conditions at the Jamboree site are deplorable, according to local media. Sanitary facilities were also described as “far from ideal”. Local authorities reported on Saturday that 70 participants had contracted Covid-19.
Due to the poor conditions, scout delegations, composed of thousands of scouts from across the world, began to desert the event, to the dismay of organisers. 4,000 British scouts were the first to leave, travelling to Seoul. 1,500 American scouts gave up on Friday and settled at Camp Humphreys, the American garrison station in Pyeongtaek. Singaporean scouts have also left.
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The Korean government desperately attempted to save the festival, dispensing $5.3 million in emergency aid for the festival, also deploying military doctors and nurses, air-conditioned buses, and refrigerated buses loaded with ice water.
The event will now be cut short in anticipation of a tropical storm. The scouts are now officially calling on the Korean government to “expedite the plan for departure and provide all necessary resources and support for participants during their stay and until they return to their home countries.”
