How Korea’s World Scout Jamboree became a global fiasco
Poor communication, oversight, accountability and responsibilities led to the failures behind the organization and execution of last year’s World Scout Jamboree in Korea, according to a report authored by an independent review panel of Scouting leaders from around the world and released April 16.
The Jamboree, which ran early last August, saw the participation of 43,000 Scouts from over 150 countries. The event was already a disaster before it began, and as time went on, its failure made worldwide headlines. The site, located on reclaimed land in North Jeolla Province’s Saemangeum, had to be evacuated prior to the closing ceremony due to an approaching typhoon.
The report, authored by six Scouting leaders from Ireland, Australia, Mexico, Sweden, Colombia and Singapore, identifies many of the problems experienced by participants and analyzes how they became unmanageable.
Participants, both Scouts and adult volunteers, faced adversity due to a lack of basics, such as sufficient food, sanitation facilities, shelter and medical support.
“There were significant challenges and deficiencies, as well as a failure to consistently deliver core services — at the standard promised by the host, and legitimately expected by the key stakeholders —and essential to keep all youth participants and adult volunteers safe,” the report said.
It further highlighted how Saemangeum was a “demonstrably high-risk site as was evident from the bidding stage,” citing that the required infrastructure work, including planting more trees, had not been completed in the planning phase.
Another major problem was site access, both for people walking on foot and road vehicles. This became an especially serious issue during the opening ceremony on Aug. 2.
The medical facilities and resources offered at the campsite were “severely inadequate,” with some clinics reportedly lacking even electricity in the early days. Heat-related issues and insect bites represented a significant portion of the case load, and worries emerged over the potential spread of waterborne diseases.
Although the host of the Jamboree was officially the Korea Scout Association, the report identified the Korean government as the “de facto” organizer “because of the large funding provided,” which it said went “against past practice and guidelines.”
“This exacerbated the existing event organization challenges and caused a number of structural and coordination complications,” the report read.
It also cited communication difficulties at all levels, and while much of this was attributed to language barriers, it added that the host “deliberately misled” the World Scout Committee, World Scout Bureau and National Scout Organizations in its communications regarding preparations.
The facts laid out in the report are damning, although its authors emphasized that the panel’s “objective is not to assign blame to individual
actors or bodies,” but rather to “identify current institutional deficiencies and to propose forward-looking strategies.”
“It is essential to emphasize that any references to responsibility and accountability in this report do not entail a legal analysis or assessment of legal liability,” the report said.
However, it added that the review was conducted without any Korean government support.
“Regrettably, notwithstanding the
panel’s efforts, the Korean government officials involved in the organizing of the 25th World Scout Jamboree were unable to provide the panel much-needed information, especially on the financial statements relating to the event, which would have made the process far more transparent for everyone,” it said.
The panel also acknowledged that some level of adversity should be accepted at Scouting events, and the host should not be expected to “provide
five-star facilities.”
“Scouting is, by its nature, an adventure activity,” it said. “However, the host must ensure that the basics, such as shelter, food, water, medical, safety and hygiene are met universally.”
David Venn, global director of communications for the World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM), told The Korea Times that the “safety and well-being of Scouts continues to be our highest priority.”
He acknowledged the thorough review by the panel, and said WOSM will implement a series of comprehensive measures to “substantially strengthen the governance, supervision, and management of our World Scout events.”
“These measures are being put in place to ensure that future World Scout events are safer and more transformative educational experiences for young people and volunteers,” he said.
Regarding the host, he added, “The Korea Scout Association is a valued member of WOSM, and we will continue to closely collaborate and support them to offer quality Scouting programs to young people.”
As to the report, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, which was one of government bodies jointly in charge of the event organization, said it is not true that government involvement was a cause of the Jamboree’s failure.
“We were never asked to provide information during the WOSM’s process of drawing up the report, and we’ve never had consultation about how to form the panel and what its role is,” the ministry said in a statement. “As to problems that occurred at the early stage of the event, we resolved them promptly through cooperation with local governments and private companies.”