Media outlets in South Korea have labelled its hosting of the World Scout Jamboree a “national disgrace”, a “survival game”, and a “worst nightmare”. Public outcry has intensified online and strangers are approaching scouts on the streets, apologising on behalf of their country and handing out gifts.
South Korea has successfully hosted large events such as the Fifa World Cup and Winter Olympics, but the mismanagement of the global scouting event, which struggled with heat and hygiene and eventually had to be evacuated as a typhoon approached, has left many wondering: where did it all go wrong?
Although there have been many accounts of positive experiences at the World Scout Jamboree in the south-western county of Buan, the event was plagued with problems.
During its early days, the Guardian received photos showing tents in flooded fields, toilets overflowing with faeces, and a lack of soap or toilet paper. According to those there, there was a sanitation problem, long lines for showers, resource mismanagement, and little natural shade during a prolonged heatwave. Hundreds of people were taken ill from heat and insect-related ailments.
Even before an expected typhoon led to an evacuation order – which meant scouts were moved to university dormitories, training centres and hotels around Seoul and other inland cities – the world scouting body had asked the government to find ways to end the event early. The UK contingent withdrew early, citing poor conditions and at a reported cost of £1m.
Concerns were raised even before the event began.
Last August, Lee Won-taeg, a Democratic party politician, highlighted a lack of preparation for showers, toilets, and water supply. In October, he cited a lack of contingency plans for extreme weather, insect control, and infections. One of the organisers, Seoul’s gender equality minister Kim Hyun-sook, responded that planning was going “without a hitch”.
Lee replied: “Wait and see. History will hold you accountable for this, minister.”
His warnings seem to have been borne out, prompting the government to mobilise hundreds of extra cleaning staff, better food, “unlimited” air-conditioned buses, and other improvements. However, some argue that these foreseen issues should never have occurred in the first place.
According to recent revelations, much of the jamboree’s 117.1bn won (£70m) budget was spent on the operation of the organising committee, which seems to have included many lavish trips abroad, sometimes to countries such as Switzerland and Italy that have never hosted jamborees.
The organising committee has said: “Most of the 74bn won [out of 117.1bn] disbursed by the organizing committee for personnel and other operating expenses was required for the operation of camping facilities and relevant programs.”
The jamboree’s campsite could have had the highest-quality infrastructure had its “massive budget been executed properly”, Kim Gi-hyeon, leader of the South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol’s People Power party, posted on Facebook.
Political parties are ensnared in a blame game, with the ruling and opposition parties blaming each other. An audit will no doubt follow.
South Korea has experienced a number of safety disasters in recent years.
In 2014, the Sewol ferry sank off the coast after being overloaded with cargo and then making a sharp turn, killing more than 300 people, most of them children. Last year, a crowd crush in central Seoul killed more than 150 young people during what was supposed to be a night of Halloween festivities, which was blamed on factors including a lack of crowd control and a botched emergency response.
While it is difficult to find common factors between these three events, Sangchin Chun, professor of sociology at Sogang University, said that the organisation of the Korean government, which is responsible for disaster management, is a problem.
He acknowledged that management systems had improved in the 21st century compared with the past, where “making the impossible possible” was characterised by putting safety aside, but said that there was still a traditional attitude where the feelings and image of “authoritarian leaders” sometimes took precedence over other considerations. Korean administration was still often run with a top-down hierarchy, where expressing disagreement met resistance.
“The reality seems to be that such systems can be disregarded and undermined based on the judgment, orders, or inclinations of such leaders. In organisations where regulations are important and the system is robust, the expertise of its members is emphasised. In contrast, where regulations are overlooked and the system is weak, members’ loyalty is valued,” Chun said.
South Korea will undoubtedly give the Scouts a spectacular sendoff at Seoul’s World Cup Stadium on Friday, with a closing ceremony that will double as a star-studded K-pop extravaganza. But once the dust settles, and the young people return home, the country will be presented with a choice about whether to genuinely examine the deep-seated issues that led to this fiasco, or succumb to political infighting.
