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South Korea Tells Scouts to Leave World Jamboree Site as Typhoon Nears

The main campsite for the troubled gathering will be packed up and thousands of scouts will disperse across the country until the event ends on Saturday.

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By Jin Yu Young

Reporting from Seoul

After several setbacks at the World Scout Jamboree, the South Korea-hosted event faces yet another hurdle: As Typhoon Khanun makes its way to the nation’s coast this week, the participants will be leaving the campsite early.

On Monday, the South Korean government informed the world Scout body that “an early departure will be planned for all participants at the 25th World Scout Jamboree from the campsite in Samangeum.” The scouts plan to move out of the site, which lies on a reclaimed wetland on the southwest coast of the peninsula, on Tuesday.

The Scout authority cited an incoming typhoon as the primary reason for the premature departure. The host of the event, the Korea Scout Association, also listed “ongoing weather conditions” in a statement as the reason behind the early departure from the event’s main campsite.

Typhoon Khanun is expected to make landfall on the nation’s southeastern coast on Thursday morning, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration .

“I can say that this event will go down in history as a very unlucky event,” said Ahmad Alhendawi, the secretary general of the World Organization of the Scout Movement, adding that it had been a unique experience to see multiple extreme weather patterns in such a short span of time. Scouts would mobilize well before the storm, he added.

Their destination, however, is still under discussion. On Monday, the government announced a jamboree “contingency plan” to relocate the participants to regions likely to be unaffected by the incoming storm.

The presidential office has also urged local governments to step up to host and provide activities for the remainder of the scouts’ stay in South Korea. Suggested activities include visits to the National Palace Museum and Gyeongbokgung Palace in Seoul, which are offering scouts discounts and free admission. Others include traditional cultural performances in Jeonju, in the southeast-central area of the country.

The World Scout Jamboree has already taken several blows during the past week. While more than 43,000 teenagers from 158 countries had flown to South Korea to attend the festivities, at least 138 people were hospitalized from heat exhaustion. Then, the British, Singaporean and U.S. scouting organizations left for activities in other parts of South Korea just several days into the event.

Over the weekend, a South Korean contingent pulled out, claiming that jamboree organizers had mishandled allegations of a sex offense on the campgrounds.

The government responded to the heat wave by ordering air-conditioned buses and trucks for the participants. A K-pop concert that had been scheduled for the weekend was postponed to Friday, the day before the end of the jamboree.

After a bumpy start, in the past few days, the jamboree was starting to get into full swing and encompass the spirit and nature of the gathering, which is held every four years, Mr. Alhendawi said. But the biggest takeaway amid the turmoil, he said, was the “resilience of the young scouts” throughout all the problems of the past week.

An earlier version of this article misstated the U.S., Singaporean and British scouts’ schedules. After leaving the jamboree, they traveled to other parts of South Korea to take part in activities. An earlier version also misstated the frequency with which the event is held. It is every four years, not annually.

How we handle corrections

Jin Yu Young reports on South Korea and other countries in Asia from the Seoul newsroom. She joined The Times in 2021. More about Jin Yu Young

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British scouts to leave South Korean Jamboree site after 100 participants suffer heat ailments

The u.k. scout association says more than 4,000 british scouts will leave the world scout jamboree at a campsite in south korea and move into hotels this weekend, as concerns grow after more than 100 participants were treated for heat-related ailments, article bookmarked.

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More than 4,000 British Scouts will leave the World Scout Jamboree at a campsite in South Korea and move into hotels this weekend, the U.K. Scout Association said Friday, as concerns grow after more than 100 participants were treated for heat-related ailments.

The pullout of the Jamboree’s largest national contingent was announced hours after South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol promised an “unlimited supply” of air-conditioned buses and refrigerator trucks to provide chilled water to the site in the southwestern town of Buan. South Korea has been grappling with one of its hottest summers in years during the event, which started Wednesday.

“We will start moving our people to hotel accommodation over the next two days. As we are the largest contingent, our hope is that this helps alleviate the pressure on the site overall,” the U.K. Scout Association said in a statement.

“We will continue the Jamboree experience in Seoul , working with Korean authorities on a program of activities so our young people still get the most from their time in Korea.”

About 40,000 scouts, mostly teenagers, from 158 countries are participating in the Jamboree at a campsite built on land reclaimed from the sea. About 4,500 are from the U.K.

Organizers on Thursday said at least 108 people had been treated for heat-related illnesses.

Long before the start of the event, critics had raised concerns about bringing that many young people to a vast, treeless area lacking protection from the summer heat.

South Korea this week raised its hot weather warning to the highest “serious” level for the first time in four years, and temperatures around the country hovered between 35 and 38 degrees Celsius (95 and 100 degrees Fahrenheit) on Friday. According to South Korea’s Ministry of the Interior and Safety, at least 19 people have died from heat-related illnesses across the country since May 20.

The Jamboree’s organizers and South Korean government officials have been scrambling to continue the event, canceling activities requiring hard physical effort and bringing more emergency vehicles, medical staff and air conditioning to the site.

The Foreign Ministry formed a special taskforce on Friday to address concerns raised by foreign diplomatic offices over the safety of the event.

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Volunteering at Scouts is changing to help us reach more young people

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Learning from our experience at the World Scout Jamboree in South Korea

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Introduction

• Outcomes of the reviews
• How the reviews worked
• Who did the reviews?
• Summary of review findings

In August 2023, thousands of Scouts from the UK headed to South Korea for the 25th World Scout Jamboree (WSJ). During our time in South Korea, we faced a number of challenges in keeping people safe , which the Scout Association managed as a critical incident. The associated decisions to keep young people safe required additional investment from our reserves, approved by our Board of Trustees.

We have undertaken two reviews to make sure we learn from this experience as fully as possible:

• An operational review by volunteer and staff teams, as usual for international events.
• An independently-led review, reporting to the Board of Trustees.

UK Scouts pull out of South Korea Jamboree camp amid heatwave

• South Korea
• Friday 4 August 2023 at 6:44pm

More than 4,000 British scouts have been pulled out of an event in South Korea - ITV News' Neil Connery has the latest

UK Scouts has pulled its groups from the World Scout Jamboree campsite in South Korea, after more than 100 were put in hospital due to a heatwave.

At least 108 people were treated for heat-related illnesses as the country swelters under one of its hottest summers in years.

The British children who had hoped to take part have now been moved to hotels.

Scouts struggling in the heat as temperatures soar at the World Scout Jamboree campsite in South Korea,

A UK Scouts spokesperson said: "As we are the largest contingent, our hope is that this helps alleviate the pressure on the site overall.

"We know that may be a disappointment for some and we will continue the Jamboree experience in Seoul, working with Korean authorities on a programme of activities so our young people still get the most from their time in Korea.

Young people will travel home as originally planned from 13 August.

"While we have been on site at the Jamboree, the UK volunteer team has worked extremely hard with the organisers, for our youth members and adult volunteers to have enough food and water to sustain them, shelter from the unusually hot weather, and toilets and washing facilities appropriate for an event of this scale."

There are 4,500 scouts from the UK at the Jamboree, 13 of which were taken to hospital due to heat related illness.

Most of those who were in hospital have recovered but at least two remain in treatment at the site's medical centre as of Thursday morning, Choi Chang-haeng, secretary-general of the Jamboree’s organising committee said.

Chief Scout and adventurer Bear Grylls addressed the extreme temperatures as he opened the event.

He posted a video of himself on Instagram, dripping with sweat.

The TV star advised Scouts, in his post caption: "Remember: stay hydrated out here. It’s hot. Look out for each other please. You’ve got this."

He said in another post : "It's super hot in Korea. To all @Scouts there, remember the mantra: Shade & hydrate act early if struggling buddy buddy always."

South Korea this week raised its hot weather warning to the highest “serious” level for the first time in four years as temperatures nationwide hovered between 33 to 38 degrees Celsius.

Extreme weather also caused issues at the start of the Jamboree this week. Heavy rainfall led to flooding on the campsite and left parts of it uninhabitable, without power and running water.

It delayed the arrival of Scouts from the UK on the campsite by 24 hours.

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Korea Travel Fiesta 2024 opens in Manila, offers winter trips in South Korea

The Korea Travel Fiesta 2024 on Saturday opened with a bang!

Organized by the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) Manila Office, the event promoted the country’s winter season to interested Philippine travelers.

“The primary goal of this event is to promote winter tourism and family travel in anticipation for the peak winter-tourist visitation in Korea. We have organized this large-scale consumer event to attract family travellers and it is scheduled for the first week of the Ber months of the Philippines,” said KTO acting president Seo Young Choong.

The event, held at the Glorietta Activity Center and Palm Drive Activity Center in Makati City, features several interactive booths which promotes K-Pop, K-Beauty, and K-Culture.

Visitors may head to the K-Beauty booth to avail free hair and make-up sessions, as well as receive a color analysis, and proceed to the Korean Cultural Center Booth to have a hand at writing in Hangul and wearing the traditional Korean Hanbok.

There is also an interactive “wishing well” booth, wherein visitors may write their Korean Travel Wishes and see it float down the screen as snowflakes.

K-Pop fans may also make their own dance reels at the K-Life booth and take photos at the Photobooth.

Regional tourism booths for Daegu, Nami Island, Jeollanamdo and Busan are also available for interested visitors.

Booths for banks, airlines, travel agencies and some Korean destinations are present for inquiries.

Korean Idols Xiumin from EXO and PUNCH is set to perform on Saturday, along with talks from guests such as Glaiza de Castro, Buboy Villar, and Kokoy de Santos from Running Man Philippines.

The event is open from 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. from September 7 until September 8, 2024. —JCB, GMA Integrated News