South Korea to push on with scout jamboree even as typhoon evacuations begin
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Organisers have come in for criticism from parents and the public for failing to anticipate the heat.
PHOTO: AFP
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SEOUL – South Korea is determined to push ahead with the World Scout Jamboree, officials said on Monday, even as organisers plan to evacuate thousands of teenage participants out of the path of a typhoon that is expected to drench their campsite.
The storm is the latest headache for the organisers of the jamboree, which began last Tuesday amid one of the worst heatwaves to hit South Korea in years.
The heat caused hundreds of scouts to fall ill and triggered complaints from parents as well as the withdrawal of the British and American contingents.
The governor of North Jeolla province, which is hosting the event, has apologised, and officials have sent in scores of water trucks and air-conditioners to keep participants cool.
Typhoon Khanun, which has wreaked havoc in southern Japan, is forecast to reach southern South Korea on Thursday, near the jamboree’s campsite.
The World Organisation of the Scout Movement said it was told by the Korean government on Monday morning that the jamboree participants would have to leave the campsite earlier and that the government would provide details of the departure plans and sites that would host the participants.
Mr Kim Sung-ho, a senior interior ministry official, told reporters that about 36,000 participants would be taken by bus on Tuesday to areas that are away from the path of the typhoon.
Gender equality and family minister Kim Hyun-sook, whose ministry is organising the event, said in the same media briefing: “I can say that it is only the location that is changing because of the natural disaster, but it is still continuing.”
Officials are seeking alternate venues and accommodation in and around Seoul, as well as in university dorms. More than 40,000 people were at the jamboree, the first global scout gathering since the pandemic.
Earlier, the contingents from Britain and the United States left the campsite, citing adverse weather. The 67-strong Singapore contingent is currently staying in Daejeon, having moved out of the jamboree site last Saturday.
The group will meet up with the British scouts in Seoul on Wednesday as planned, before flying back to Singapore on Saturday.
The Americans are due to stay at a US army base and the British at hotels in the capital, Seoul.
Scouts from 155 nations were attending the event.
A K-pop concert due to be held at the campsite on Sunday was postponed to Friday, but the venue is yet to be decided because of the typhoon, minister Kim said. REUTERS
Additional reporting by Anjali Raguraman
