Already compromised by the crushing summer heat, the 2023 edition of the world gathering of scouts organized in South Korea is seen upset by the approach of the powerful typhoon Khanun, but also tarnished by suspicions of embezzlement of public funds.
Khanun, its torrential rains and its gusts that can exceed 150 km / h forced the authorities to evacuate, on Tuesday August 8, the 37,000 young people and volunteers from 150 countries gathered for the 25e World Scout Jamboree, Saemangeum, North (West) Jeolla Province. All boarded the 971 mobilized buses – in addition to 273 police cars and four helicopters – to be driven to 128 sites in Seoul and seven other provinces, where they will stay until the official end of the rally on August 12.
Admittedly always ready, the scouts experience an event with unexpected turns. From the start of the match, the 1er August, they had to face the crushing South Korean summer heat, without sufficient means to hydrate or cool off, or even to take care of themselves. Only fifty beds equipped the hospital built on the site. However, several hundred young people suffered heatstroke.
Added to this were questions of food hygiene, showers in tents allowing prying eyes to pass, but also the incessant onslaught of swarms of mosquitoes. The situation was so serious that the British, American and Singaporean scouts left the scene on August 4. She also forced President Yoon Suk-yeol to interrupt his vacation week to scold the administrations and call on them to do everything to protect young people.
Journeys with blurred patterns
Questions arise about the reasons for the unpreparedness of an event yet endowed with a budget of 117.1 billion won (81 million euros) to cover the costs of organization, operation of the site, but also of the K-pop concert scheduled to close the quadrennial gathering.
However, it appears that officials from the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family Affairs and others from North Jeolla have made dozens of trips abroad with unclear motives. Five officials from the province spent eight days in Switzerland and Italy in May 2018, a trip punctuated by visits to Interlaken, Lucerne, Milan and Venice. Switzerland and Italy, however, have never hosted jamborees. Other trips included cruises, again far from the necessities of the Scout gathering.
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