High spirits among Irish contingent as South Korea prepares to evacuate World Scout Jamboree site

South Korea is preparing to evacuate tens of thousands of scouts from a coastal jamboree site as tropical storm Khanun looms, officials said.

The World Organisation of the Scout Movement said it had received confirmation from South Korea’s government of the early departure for all participants in the southwestern county of Buan.

That means quickly moving tens of thousands of scouts – mostly teenagers – from 158 countries out of the storm’s path.

Scouting Ireland said 144 scouts and 78 adults from the State are expected to leave the site on Tuesday and move to other accommodation, noting that the storm was expected on Wednesday night or Thursday morning.

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It said the departure plan was being managed by a Swedish scouter with expertise in the area, aided by Korean government agencies and event organisers.

Scouting Ireland said 900 buses are to be used to transfer scouts to their new accommodation – in community centres, gymnasiums, schools, hostels and hotels – with the process to begin at 8am local time on Tuesday. It is anticipated that it will take up to 14 hours for all 40,000 scouts on-site to be transported from the site.

‘Calmly preparing’

“Spirits among the Irish contingent are high and everyone is calmly preparing for site departure,” Scouting Ireland said. “The plan is for the entire jamboree to reconvene on the 11th of August in a closed/roofed stadium for a K-pop concert and closing ceremony. The Irish team are also hoping to schedule activities for our scouts in and around Seoul once the weather improves.”

Speaking to RTÉ radio’s News at One from Buan on Monday, Ireland’s chief scout, Jill Pitcher Farrell, said she was happy that the initial decision by the Irish contingent to stay on even as a number of other national groups relocated to hotels had been the right one.

“We definitely feel this was the right decision. It was hot, there is no denying that fact, but I think a lot of our youth members had a really good time and enjoy the jamboree atmosphere,” she said.

The chief executive of Scouts UK, Matt Hyde, told the BBC that evacuating the organisation’s 4,500 scouts and adults had cost more than €1 million and would impact on budgets for several years to come. He was deeply critical of sanitation of medical support at the site during the early, heat-affected days of the event.

Ms Pitcher Farrell acknowledged there had been issues but said the sanitation situation had “drastically improved after the first day or two,” and that the Irish group had sufficient additional soap and other materials to ensure “their sanitary conditions were adequate”.

On Friday, Scouting Ireland said that while five members of the Irish contingent – three adults and two teenagers – were treated for the heat, none required long-term, overnight or off-site treatment.

Speaking on Monday Ms Pitcher Farrell said: “All of our young people who were suffering from issues with the heat have recovered at this point. There are still levels of tiredness but that’s not abnormal when you’re on a jamboree or any scout camp but none of them are currently receiving treatment.”

She said regular updates were being being provided to parents who were being “very positive” about the situation. However, she said she believed the decision to evacuate the site now was the correct one.

“In the Irish contingent, we’re quite relieved at this decision, we think it’s in the best interest of the staff here and it’s the safest thing to do and there will be adequate time to get everyone off the site before any of the bad weather hits.”

South Korea’s weather agency reported that Khanun was about 205 miles (330km) northeast of the Japanese island of Okinawa as of 9am local time on Monday. It was expected to make landfall in South Korea on Thursday morning, packing high winds.

Large swathes of the country’s south, including Buan, could be affected by the storm as early as Wednesday, the agency said.

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.

Heat-related ailments

Hot temperatures have already forced thousands of scouts to leave the site, which is made on land reclaimed from sea. Hundreds of participants had been treated for heat-related ailments since the jamboree started on Wednesday.

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.

Organisers are scurrying to come up with plans to evacuate the scouts before the storm’s arrival.

Choi Chang-haeng, secretary general of the jamboree’s organising committee, said officials have secured more than 340 evacuation venues, including community centres and gyms, in regions near Buan.

About 40,000 scouts – mostly teenagers – from 158 countries came to the jamboree. About 4,500 were from the UK, representing the largest national contingent, while about 1,000 were from the United States. – Associated Press