How Jamboree money was wasted

Participants wait in a long line to enter a souvenir shop at the campsite for the 25th World Scout Jamboree in Saemangeum, North Jeolla Province, Aug. 4. Government data suggests that a big portion of the event's budget may have been wasted. Reuters-Yonhap

Tate Modern, Prague Castle, Iguazu Falls: Much of budget earmarked for 'unnecessary trips'

By Jung Min-ho

Korea has built its reputation as a reliable host of international events over the past several decades during which it successfully staged the 2002 FIFA World Cup, the 2010 G20 Summit, the 1988 Summer and 2018 Winter Olympics and many others.

That reputation is now in tatters as a result of the disastrous management of the 25th World Scout Jamboree, which opened on Aug. 1 amid extreme weather, sanitation issues and a slew of other problems.

Given a lack of resources and basic services prepared for the teenage Scouts and adult volunteers, many have raised questions as to how the more than 117 billion won ($89 million) budgeted for the event was spent. Government data about officials' work-related overseas trips and training programs point to the answer.

Tate Modern and Hylands Park in London, the Orsay Museum in Paris, Sydney Opera House, Prague Castle and Iguazu National Park in Argentina are among the places visited by officials since Saemangeum was selected in September 2015 to host the 2023 Jamboree ― all in the name of promoting and preparing for the international event.

Government officials of North Jeolla Provincial and Buan County ― the local offices responsible for the event ― made 70 overseas trips. Officials from the central government and its committee also made 29 trips for "case studies" and other reasons.

Local residents hold a parasol as they view the tents set up at Saemangeum for the 25th World Scout Jamboree in Buan, North Jeolla Province, Aug. 4. Newsis

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Yet the grand visions and plans they had proposed before and after the trips apparently did not materialize at the Saemangeum-based event. In fact, the Jamboree will likely be remembered as one faced with challenges unseen "in more than 100 years of World Scout Jamborees" as Ahmad Alhendawi, secretary-general of its world governing body, put it.

On May 29, 2018, a group of five North Jeolla officials departed for Interlaken, a Swiss city that has never hosted a Jamboree. After meeting with a former leader of the European Scout Region, they said it was important to secure a sufficient amount of good quality food ingredients and to always keep the campsite clean ― obvious rules for hosting any international event, yet they still failed to deliver.

In December of the same year, nine other officials went to New Zealand, another country that has never hosted a Jamboree. There, they visited cricket, football and golf facilities as well as Waitomo Caves, where fireflies glowed "just like galaxies in the night sky," as they wrote in a report.

In an October 2019 trip to Paris, another city that has never hosted the Jamboree, four Buan officials visited the Orsay Museum, the House of Claude Monet and the Mont-Saint-Michel Abbey, through which they said they learned the importance of facility sustainability.

Some of the overseas trip reports in the data system omitted detailed itineraries or even basic information such as why they went there.

The high temperatures in Saemangeum, a vast unshaded area of reclaimed land, were the most challenging issue for the 43,000 Scouts, who came to Korea from 159 nations. Hundreds received treatment for heatstroke symptoms. The problem was not completely unexpected, according to some reports.

In a 2018 report submitted following an eight-day trip to Taiwan, which, again, has no hosting experience, provincial government officials called for "a thorough preparation for heat and rain," given the time of year that the event would take place.

Whether all these trips were necessary and how the other portion of the budget was spent will be revealed through investigations. Both governing and opposition parties vowed to get to the bottom of "the national disgrace" once the event ends on Aug. 12.

Flags are displayed at a viewing deck overlooking the Saemangeum campsite of the World Scout Jamboree in Buan, North Jeolla Province, Aug. 5. British, American and Singaporean Scouts left the event venue, citing the extreme heat. AFP-Yonhap

'Inevitable damage to Expo bid'

Public relations experts contacted by The Korea Times said that they think many of the state trips made in the run-up to the Jamboree seemed irrelevant and inappropriate to project objectives. They also expressed concerns over the possible fallout on Busan's bid to host the 2030 World Expo.

"Many would share their worries about a possible impact," an Expo promoter said on condition of anonymity. "They (the Jamboree organizers) probably did not think the heat would be this bad when they were preparing for the event, a lesson Expo organizers should keep in mind."

A PR firm official, who has experienced many government projects, said the problem-ridden Jamboree will likely have a negative effect on Busan's Expo bid.

"The event has made headlines all over the world. This is concerning, at a time when Busan is in close competition with Riyadh ahead of the voting later this year," the official said. "I think the damage is inevitable."

Another PR expert said that the Jamboree impact on the Expo could be limited, given the diplomatic factors that usually play a bigger role.

"It is nonetheless a shattering blow to the image of Korea. Some people might blame local officials for creating all the problems. But in the eyes of foreigners, it is a problem for Korea, the whole country," she said.