First a heat wave, then heavy rainfall and finally a typhoon: the participants in the world’s largest scout camp had to face many challenges in South Korea. Today, 40,000 people celebrated the conclusion of the meeting.
After turbulent days and the premature evacuation of their camp in South Korea because of a typhoon, tens of thousands of boy scouts from all over the world came together again in Seoul for the official farewell. About 40,000 participants at this year’s World Scout Gathering gathered at the capital’s World Cup Stadium for the closing ceremony, which was followed by a concert featuring Korean popular music (K-pop) performers.
The past few days have not been easy for everyone, said Secretary General of the World Organization of the Scout Movement, Ahmad Alhendawi, on a stage to the mostly young participants. “No other event has experienced so many challenges and extreme weather conditions.” He thanked the South Koreans for their hospitality.
The World Scout Jamboree ended in Seoul with a closing ceremony and a K-Pop concert.
First a heat wave, then heavy rains and a typhoon
Since the start of the world’s largest scout camp in Saemangeum on the west coast on August 1st, heavy rains and a subsequent heat wave had hit the participants hard. Some of them suffered from exhaustion. Organizational problems were also criticized. Despite all the adversities, the meeting was a “great experience” for the young participants, said the spokesman for the German contingent, Niklas König, in Seoul.
He emphasized the exchange between the participants and the support from the population. “It was an adventure overall, even if not everything went the way we had envisioned it,” said König. Apart from the extreme weather, there were “infrastructural deficiencies”. The campsite was not properly prepared, there were problems with food and hygiene, among other things. It got better later. The way the organizers handled the evacuation was also very good.
When a tropical storm approached the Korean peninsula, South Korea’s government decided that the huge tent camp had to be cleared last Tuesday. Since then, the participants – including the German group of 2,200 scouts – have been housed in permanent accommodation in Seoul and other regions. A new program was created at short notice for the national contingents. The camp on the coast was originally supposed to be up until August 12th.
For fear of an approaching typhoon, tens of thousands of children and young people were evacuated from the World Scouts’ World Meeting in South Korea.
43,000 Boy Scouts from 158 countries
Typhoon Khanun, which made landfall on Thursday and brought heavy rain and strong winds with it, left the country again on Friday night for North Korea.
The camp, for which more than 43,000 Boy Scouts from 158 countries had registered, was located on an area reclaimed from the sea. Saemangeum offered no natural shade for the participants, who were housed in more than 20,000 tents. The next World Scout Jamboree will take place in Poland in four years.