Scouts are known for their hardiness, but the tens of thousands of attendees at the 25th World Jamboree in South Korea are having their vigor challenged to the max by a combination of faltering facilities, swarming bugs, a climatic “heat trap” and searing temperatures currently plaguing the peninsula.
After more than 1,000 visiting teens visited on-site medical facilities on Thursday for conditions including bug bites, rashes and heat exhaustion, South Korean governmental bodies on Friday swung into crisis-management mode.
About 700 American Boy Scouts have traveled to South Korea for the Jamboree, and U.S. Embassy officials said they had been in touch with both the Boy Scouts of America and the U.S. military command in South Korea over the status of the U.S. contingent. But alarming media reports and social media complaints from worried parents indicate the great adventure is mutating into a great trial.
Mobile showers have backed up, with mud covering the floors. Participants say the number of on-site toilets is insufficient, as are cleaning staff. Swarms of insects have descended, and though Korean mosquitoes are not malarial, gruesome images show legs covered in sores from bites.Mobilizing from the top
“Some of the participating governments have officially expressed concerns on the condition of the event, and some parents of international participants are complaining through social network services,” Yun Jae-ok, floor leader of the ruling People Power Party, said at a National Assembly meeting, the Korea Times reported.
The fallout is extraordinary given that Seoul has made the successful hosting of top-level international events a cornerstone of Brand Korea.
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