South Korea’s jamboree failure sparks calls for heads to roll: ‘this is a national shame’
- Questions were raised as early as 2017 on the suitability of the site in Buan, given its lack of natural shade and vulnerability to the elements
- Lawmakers call for ‘thorough’ investigation into possible misuse of the jamboree budget, lack of preparation and sanitation problems
South Korea’s organisation of the 100 billion won (US$76 million) World Scout Jamboree has been slammed as a “national shame”, as calls mount for officials to investigate the doomed event that has also brought into question the country’s ability to host the 2030 World Expo.
While scouts the world over know to always “be prepared”, some 43,000 young people from 158 countries were caught off guard by the heatwaves, bugs, dirty toilets, inadequate food and lack of services that plagued the jamboree.
Thousands of participants from Britain ended up leaving the site at Saemangeum on the southwest coast on Saturday, three days after it opened for an 11-day run. Hundreds of others from the United States followed suit.
The remaining participants numbering some 37,000 left the site on Tuesday for Seoul and its surrounding areas, with Typhoon Khanun expected to hit the country on Thursday.
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Hundreds suffer heat exhaustion at World Scout Jamboree in South Korea
“This is absolutely a national shame. It will certainly go down in history as one of the worst international events hosted by South Korea,” said Choi Jin, an analyst at the think tank Presidential Leadership.