The World Scout Jamboree has been dubbed a “survival game,” a “national disgrace,” and a “worst nightmare” by South Korean media outlets. Online outrage has grown, and strangers are even approaching scouts on the street to apologize on behalf of their nation and give them gifts.
These were some of the circumstances that approximately 40,000 teenage scouts at the World Scout Jamboree had to deal with the course of the previous week, leaving organizers in South Korea red-faced and trying to make repairs before an impending typhoon forced everyone to leave the doomed campground.
South Korea has hosted large events like these, such as FIFA World Cup and Winter Olympics, but the mismanagement of the Jamboree event has led to a disaster.
Although the event was held during a heatwave, preparatory records and interviews with participants and government representatives reveal that the jamboree was plagued by unheeded warnings and inadequate preparation even before the obstacles provided by the weather.
The world scouting organization had asked the government to find methods to finish the event early, even before an anticipated typhoon led to an evacuation order, which meant that scouts were transported to university dormitories, training centers, and hotels near Seoul and other inland cities.
Recent disclosures suggest that a large portion of the 117.1bn won (£70m) budget for the jamboree was used to run the organizing committee. This appears to have included a number of opulent excursions abroad.
According to Kim Gi-hyeon, head of Yoon Suk Yeol’s People Power party in South Korea, the jamboree’s campsite might have had the best infrastructure if its “massive budget” had been properly used.
When questioned about what went wrong, gender equality minister Kim Hyun-sook, the co-head of the organizing committee, stated that unhygienic restrooms were one of the main issues at the event. – WhatALife!/Zain
Also read: Typhoon Hinnamnor batters South Korea; One dead, several missing
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