Minister of Public Administration and Security Lee Sang-min, right, briefs reporters alongside Minister of Gender Equality and Family Kim Hyun-sook at the Saemangeum World Scout Jamboree press center in Buan, South Korea, Aug. 8, 2023. (South Korea Ministry of the Interior and Safety)
CAMP HUMPHREYS, South Korea — Thousands of Boy Scouts at the World Scout Jamboree campsite in Saemangeum, South Korea, were evacuated Tuesday from the coastal city in advance of a tropical storm that is expected to make landfall this week.
The World Scout Jamboree is relocating to safer areas in Seoul and Chungcheong Province, about 50 miles south of the capital city, due to the approaching Tropical Storm Khanun, the organization said in a statement Tuesday.
South Korea’s Ministry of the Interior and Safety is overseeing the evacuation and dispatched 1,014 buses to transport the roughly 37,000 attendees from 156 countries, Minister Lee Sang-min told reporters at a news conference Tuesday.
Four police helicopters and 273 police cars and motorcycles were also dispatched to escort the Boy Scouts to their respective destinations.
The U.S. contingent left the Saemangeum site Sunday aboard buses bound 85 miles north to Camp Humphreys, the largest U.S. military base overseas, in Pyeongtaek city.
The Scouts were settled in Humphreys Middle School where they slept on cots inside the gym and ate food provided by Eighth Army at the school’s cafeteria.
Morale is still “very high,” and the Scouts had performed admirably despite the change of venue, U.S. contingent chief Brad Valdyke told Stars and Stripes on Tuesday.
Most Scouts evacuated Tuesday will be staying in hotels, schools and government buildings in Gyeonggi, South Korea’s most populous province, Lee said. Others will be staying in cities like Incheon, Daejeon and Chungnam.
“Until the moment participants depart, the government and local authorities will work together to ensure that participants can experience South Korea safely and enjoyably and conclude all activities with a sense of happiness,” Lee said. “We kindly ask citizens to warmly welcome the Jamboree participants as they arrive at their accommodations after a long journey.”
Tropical Storm Khanun is expected to reach the country’s southern island of Jeju on Wednesday and make landfall on the peninsula the next day, according to a Korea Meteorological Administration forecast on Tuesday.
Some Jamboree activities are canceled due to the relocation, but other sponsored events will be held in venues throughout the country, like a K-pop concert, until the end of the event on Saturday.
The 25th World Scout Jamboree kicked off on Aug. 1 with nearly 40,000 Scouts ages 14 to 17. As temperatures in Saemangeum soared to 90 degrees F on Sunday, Scouts and staff members fell ill and prompted some attendees to withdraw from the venue, including the U.S. contingent of around 700 Scouts and chaperones.
“While we regret the need for the early departure, the move ensures the safety of our Scouts and alleviates pressure on the jamboree site services and infrastructure,” the Boy Scouts of America said in an email to parents and staff on Friday.
The U.S. Scouts visited a waterpark in nearby Asan city on Tuesday and plans to go on tours hosted by South Korean conglomerate Samsung later this week, Valdyke said.
“Everybody is coming to an understanding that they are where they should be and getting the experience they expected, just in a different way,” he said.
