Crushed by heat and overwhelmed by serious health problems, the world gathering of scouts organized in South Korea, the jamboree, threatens to turn into political chaos and a diplomatic setback. Qualified as “international disgrace” by the daily Segye Times, the situation at this gathering of 43,000 young people made headlines in the South Korean press on Saturday August 5th.
It would be so serious that the event scheduled until August 12 could be interrupted. The 4,500 British participants have already decided to leave the premises. They will return to Seoul and stay there until August 13, the date scheduled for the end of their stay. “It’s a disappointment, but we will continue the experience of the jamboree in Seoul, working with the authorities so that our young people make the most of their stay in Korea”explained Scouts UK, the main British Scouting organization.
The American scouts also gave up the event to settle in Camp Humphreys, an American garrison located in Pyeongtaek, 65 kilometers south of Seoul. They are expected to stay there until August 11.
real sauna
These decisions were taken with the support of the embassies of these countries, worried about the situation at the jamboree, even though the South Korean foreign ministry has established a working group to address their concerns.
Delegations were reportedly unconvinced by the intervention of South Korean President Yoon Seok-youl, who interrupted his vacation week on Friday to demand the supply of an unlimited number of air-conditioned buses and refrigerated trucks to organizers. “The government must immediately resolve all the problems on the site”, thundered the head of state, while his prime minister, Han Duck-soo, organized an emergency council of ministers to validate the use of reserve funds.
The panic at the highest level of the State reflects the anger born of the deplorable conditions of this jamboree inaugurated on 1er August in a camp set up on land reclaimed from the Yellow Sea in Saemangeum (Buan County), North (West) Jeolla Province. It brings together 43,000 young people aged 13 to 18 from 153 countries. World jamborees are held every four years with the aim of promoting cultural exchange. South Korea hosted one in 1991. At the time, it was organized in Goseong, in the mountainous province of Gangwon (northeast).
This time, the scouts are facing a particularly trying heat wave, with temperatures felt close to 40°C. The situation is aggravated by a high level of humidity which transforms the area, otherwise totally exposed to the sun, into a veritable sauna.
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