After heat, typhoon threatens misery for South Korea scout jamboree

SEOUL, Aug 7 (Reuters) – Organisers of the World Scout Jamboree raced on Monday to evacuate thousands of mainly teenage participants from their South Korea campsite before a typhoon is expected to hit the area just days after a debilitating heatwave.

Typhoon Khanun, which has wreaked havoc in southern Japan, is forecast to reach southern South Korea on Thursday, near the jamboree’s campsite in Jeolla province.

The heavy rain and winds could bring respite from the up to 34 Celsius (93.2 Fahrenheit)heat which has made hundreds of scouts ill and led some contingents to pull out of the jamboree.

South Korea’s government has informed the group that they were planning an early departure from the campsite due to the typhoon, the World Organization of the Scout Movement said.

Details would be announced later on Monday, but President Yoon Suk Yeol’s office said there were plans to put up the scouts in accommodation in the Seoul area.

Local organisers were also asking universities if they had space in their dorms for the participants.

More than 40,000 people, mostly scouts aged 14 to 18, are at the jamboree, the first global scout gathering since the pandemic. South Korea has pledged to ensure the event’s safety, and have laid on water trucks, air-conditioned spaces and medics.

Organisers have come in for criticism from parents and the public for failing to anticipate the heat. Kim Kwan-young, governor of North Jeolla province, apologised on Sunday for not being well prepared.

Scouts from 155 nations are attending the event.

The Australian contingent became the latest troop to leave the campsite, citing the typhoon risk, Australian broadcaster ABC reported.

The U.S. and British contingents have already left because of the heat, with the Americans due to stay at a U.S. army base and the British at hotels in the capital, Seoul.

Singaporean scouts have also moved into accommodation elsewhere but were taking part in on-site activities, the organisers said.

A K-pop concert due to be held at the campsite on Sunday was postponed to Friday and will be held at sports stadium, some 53 km (33 miles) away.

Various authorities and businesses have stepped in to help, including by donating water and ice cream, while the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism has opened up its temples to the scouts.

Reporting by Hyunsu Yim and Ju-min Park; Editing by Ed Davies, Robert Birsel and Miral Fahmy

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