The 2023 Saemangeum World Scout Jamboree, which was put forward as the first large-scale international youth event since the COVID-19 pandemic, seems to be turning into a “Korean tourism” after a stalemate. It has become difficult to find the original purpose of Jamboree to engrave the scout spirit of challenge, pioneering spirit, and harmony due to poor preparation and complacent safety awareness.Participants are leaving the camp due to insufficient response to the predicted heat wave. Some countries with many participants, such as the United Kingdom and the United States, are also leaving the camp early. For the first time among Korean participants, about 80 scout members in Jeonbuk left the campsite in groups, citing the “poor environment.”
Due to the government’s belated intervention, the campsite situation has improved overall. However, as much of the outdoor events were canceled and replaced by domestic tourism programs, it is observed that Saemangeum Jamboree, which was said to be an opportunity to enhance its national prestige for global youth, has become difficult to achieve its original goal.
On the 6th, the Saemangeum Reclamation Site in Buan-gun, Jeollabuk-do, where Saemangeum Jamboree is being held, was followed by a procession of members leaving the campsite with their bags packed. At around 10:50 a.m. on the same day, 17 buses carrying a U.S. scout delegation left the camp site and headed for Camp Humphreys, a U.S. military base in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province.The British delegation, which sent 4,500 teenagers and leaders, the largest number among the participating countries in Saemangeum Jamboree, also left for Seoul on the same day, following the previous day.The U.S. crew also expressed some regret. A (16) said, “I came here thousands of miles by plane. It was inconvenient because it was too hot and there was no water, but it was changing little by little, he said. “I came to camp to get out of a comfortable place, but I’m sorry that I decided to leave, but I have to follow it.”Some local universities of Korean scouts also retired early as a group. Eighty-five members of the 900th local unit of the Korea Scout Jeonbuk Federation announced that they would leave the campsite in the afternoon after preparing for demolition from the morning. They are the first Korean scouts to declare their retirement as a group since the opening of Saemangeum Jamboree.The tangible and intangible damage this incident has caused to Korean society is indescribable. It has deeply hurt the people’s pride, which has been raised by their achievements in each field, as well as the decline in national prestige and deterioration of their international status. Some worry that Korea’s ability to host international events has also been questioned, turning a red light on the hosting of the Busan Expo.The presidential office and the ruling party are moving to turn the arrow of responsibility to the former government as criticism grows over poor Jamboree preparation. A high-ranking official of the presidential office said, “It has been prepared by the Moon Jae Inn government for five years,” adding, “It is reported that the working-level preparation was centered on Jeollabuk-do.” Prime Minister Han Duck-soo’s announcement on the 4th that “the central government of the Republic of Korea will take responsibility from now on” seems to be in the same vein. After the end of Jamboree, there is a possibility that the former government and Jeonbuk Governor Kim Kwan-young of the Democratic Party will be held responsible for the lack of preparation and poor operation.In order to clearly determine where the responsibility is, it is necessary to find out the truth through step-by-step authority and role from hosting the 2017 tournament to the present.
First of all, criticism is raised against Jeonbuk Province, which was intended to use Jamboree as an opportunity to draw government support for the Saemangeum development project, which has been slow to build infrastructure such as roads and airports. In the first place, many point out that it was not appropriate to set a tidal flat landfill suitable for camping in summer as an event venue because there was no natural shade.
Even after Saemangeum was confirmed as the final venue, Jeollabuk-do failed to properly implement the originally promised forest creation, soil quality improvement, and drainage facility expansion. It is difficult to avoid Jeonbuk-do’s primary responsibility, such as inadequate location selection and insufficient supplementary measures.Even if it is an event hosted by local governments, it is common for the central government to directly supervise the event on an international scale. It seems to be the result of the Korean government’s desire to invest in a large-scale project called Saemangeum and build infrastructure. Saemangeum is a reclamation project site where the tidal flats of the sea are tied.Therefore, I think it should have been better prepared.
KS CHOI
US ASIA JOURNAL
