The head of the Scouts in the United Kingdom has blasted the organisers behind a disastrous jamboree in South Korea that has been plagued with issues.
Officials in the country are currently preparing to evacuate tens of thousands of teenagers from the coastal camp ahead of an incoming tropical storm.
The jamboree has already been marred by hot temperatures which forced many – including 4,500 British scouts – off the site and into hotels at the cost of £1million.
Matt Hyde, Chief Executive of UK Scouts, said his organisation had been ‘let down by the organisers’ and described the huge camp in the southwestern county of Buan as having dirty, uncleaned toilets and a general lack of hygiene.
Hundreds of participants have been treated for heat-related ailments since the jamboree started on Wednesday, with 2,500 having fallen sick with ailments including bug bites, skin rashes and heat exhaustion.
According to local reports, there has also been an outbreak of Covid-19.
British scouts arrive at a hotel in Seoul on August 5, 2023, after leaving the World Scout Jamboree in Buan, North Jeolla province due to high temperatures
Tents are pitched at a scout camping site during the World Scout Jamboree in Buan, South Korea, on Aug. 4, 2023. The campsite is now in the path of an incoming storm
An ambulance drives out of the campsite of the World Scout Jamboree in Buan, North Jeolla province on August 5
Now, as Tropical Storm Khanun bears down on the camp, the World Organization of the Scout Movement said it received confirmation from South Korea’s government of the early departure for all participants, bringing an end to the event.
That means using buses to urgently move some 36,000 scouts – mostly teenagers – from 158 countries out of the storm’s path and to safer locations.
South Korea’s weather agency reported that Khanun was expected to make landfall in South Korea on Thursday morning, potentially packing winds as strong as 73 to 95 miles (118 to 154 kilometers) per hour.
Large swaths of the country’s south, including Buan, could be affected by the storm as early as Wednesday, the agency said.
The storm has caused one death and 70 injuries on the southern Japanese island of Okinawa, according to the country’s Fire and Disaster Management Agency.
Due to the forecast of harsh weather in the region, West Japan Railway Co. said there was a possibility of suspending ‘Shinkansen’ bullet train services from Wednesday night to Thursday morning.
South Korea’s president Yoon Suk Yeol’s office said he called for ‘contingency’ plans, which could include relocating the scouts to hotels and other facilities in the country’s capital, Seoul, and nearby metropolitan areas.
The site is made on land reclaimed from the sea, making it particularly vulnerable.
Long before the event’s start, critics raised concerns about bringing such large numbers of young people to a vast, treeless area lacking protection from the summer heat.
Speaking to the BBC, Mr Hyde said his organisation had brought their concerns to the event’s organisers, and described the dire conditions at the camp.
‘We are both disappointing and feel let down by the organisers because we repeatedly raised some of these concerns before we went, during when we went, we were promised things were going to be put in place,’ he said.
‘If you can imagine, toilets that are being used by thousands and thousands of people that are not being cleaned with the regularity you would expect, you can imagine the sort of things that people were seeing.
‘It wasn’t just that, it was actually the lack of soap as well, so again it’s the compounding impact of all these things together but like all of these things, when you’re put in a position where you have to make difficult decisions there are choices.
‘We have at this point had to make the difficult choice of investing our money to ensure that young people are safe. That is the right thing to do and the board took that decision and stand by it 100 per cent and unanimously,’ he added.
Organizers earlier on Monday were scurrying to come up with plans to evacuate the scouts ahead of the storm’s arrival.
No details have been given on where the participants will stay until they return home, but Choi Chang-haeng, secretary-general of the jamboree’s organizing committee, said organizers have secured more than 340 evacuation venues, including community centers and gyms, in regions near Buan.
About 40,000 scouts, mostly teenagers, from 158 countries came to the Jamboree at a campsite built on land reclaimed from the sea.
About 4,500 were from the U.K., representing the largest national contingent, while about 1,000 were from the United States.
Those from the UK and the US were moved into hotels over the weekend.
In a separate video posted to the Scout’s Instagram, Mr Hyde again hit out at the organisers, expressing his disappointment while praising the efforts by the young scouts and the adult volunteers for continuing their ‘jamboree journey’ in Seoul.
‘The reason why we’ve taken [the decision to move] is because we were concerned about young people and adult volunteers’ safety,’ he said, listing four reasons.
‘The first is that we were particularly concerned about sanitation and the cleanliness of toilets that were causing severe concerns from us form a health and safety point of view. In addition to that, we were worried about food and those with dietary requirements in particular, and the amount of food that was available,’ he said.
‘We were concerned also about the heat. It’s punishingly hot here in Korea, it’s an unprecedented heat wave, but we were concerned about the heat relief measures that were being put in place.
‘And finally, we were concerned about medical services,’ Mr Hyde added.
‘And those four areas gave us concerns about whether young people and our adult volunteers were safe and that’s why we’ve relocated our jamboree journey to here in Seoul,’ he said. ‘We are disappointed in the organisers and the organisation and we do feel let down.’
A handout photo made available by the South Korea Prime Minister’s Office shows Prime Minister Han Duck-soo (third-right) posing for a photo with Scouts during an inspection of the ongoing World Scout Jamboree, August 6
British scout members leave the World Scout Jamboree campsite in Buan, August 6
Gareth Weir, right, British Deputy Ambassador to South Korea, greets scout members of his country as they arrive from the World Scout Jamboree camp site at a hotel, August 5
US scout members prepare to leave the World Scout Jamboree campsite in Buan, South Korea
The Scout’s Chief Executive went on to praise his organisation and the British Embassy in Seoul for pulling together other activities at short notice.
He also praised the local people in the city.
This is a remarkable city,’ he said. ‘Last night a local football team reached out, offered us 4,000 tickets for our participants to go and watch a game of football, and I am truly inspired by the response of our adult volunteers and our young people.
‘When I arrived upstairs in a hall yesterday as young people were arriving, it was so inspiring just to see their response. They were singing campfire songs, there was someone on the piano, they are a credit to scouting and a credit to the UK.’
MailOnline revealed over the weekend how volunteers have been left ‘incandescent at the lack of leadership’ amid the chaos at the jamboree.
Before news of the incoming storm, the World Organisation of the Scout Movement on Saturday called for the event to be shelved in its entirety and asked South Korean organisers to ‘consider alternative options to end the event earlier than scheduled and support the participants until they depart for their home countries.’
But the South Korean government conducted spot inspections on Saturday and found conditions were no longer as dire as has been claimed, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said, adding that after discussions with participating countries, ‘we decided to continue the event without stopping.’
Former jamboree leaders and volunteers have blasted the UK contingent for censoring youngsters and leaders from exposing ‘the true scale of the mess’, while one parent said their child thought ‘they were going to die’ amid the blistering heat.
A volunteer, who wished to remain anonymous, told MailOnline: ‘I am absolutely incandescent with the lack of leadership at the very top.’ She added that the chaos was being masked by leaders – and several volunteers believe that ‘had the true position come to light earlier, the situation may have been much better’.
Scouts UK said it was ‘unaware’ of any form of censoring going on.
Temperatures hit 35C (95F) in Saemangeum, near the city of Buan on South Korea’s west coast, where 43,000 participants were camping as of Friday.
Flags are displayed at a viewing deck overlooking the campsite of the World Scout Jamboree in Buan, North Jeolla province on August 5, 2023
Other parts of South Korea have topped 38C (100.4F), forcing the government to issue the highest heat warning in four years.
Among those in attendance is adventurer Bear Grylls – the UK’s chief scout since 2009 – who was filmed dripping in sweat as he delivered a speech at the opening ceremony. He had urged people to remain calm before the UK pulled members out.
Saturday saw thousands of British children, aged 14 to 17, packing their bags at the campsite. The first wave of children arrived at hotels in Seoul – where they were met by Gareth Weir – the British Deputy Ambassador to South Korea.
British scouts continued to evacuate to hotels across the weekend.
