[Weekly Focus] 25TH WORLD SCOUT JAMBOREE

[Weekly Focus] 2023 새만금 세계스카우트잼버리

Dami : South Korea's west coast of Saemangeum has been buslting this week, with thousand of teenagers have been gathered to participate in the 25th World Scout Jamobree.
For more on the world's largest camping festival, we're joined by Choi Soo-hyung.
Welcome back and also welcome back from Saemangeum, Soo-hyung.

Soo-hyung : Good to be here again, Dami.

Dami : The 25th edition, and this is the second time Korea has hosted the event, isn't it?

Soo-hyung : That's right, Dami. This event is back in Korea after 32 years.
The country hosted the 1991 edition in Goseong-gun County, Gangwon-do Province.
It's the biggest camping festival for young people.
This year's began on Tuesday, August 1st at Saemangeum in Buan-gun County in South Korea's Jeollabuk-do Province, and will run until August 12th.
Almost 43-thousand scouts from 158 countries have gathered, sharing true friendships that will bridge racial, religious, and cultural divides.
Most of the scouts are looking to experience something new and network with new friends.
Let's take a listen to what the scouts expected the most.

Dami : So other than mingling with one another. What are they exactly doing at the campground?

Soo-hyung : First, the scouts was created to promote physical and mental health among young people.
Through various activities, teenagers can learn how to overcome difficulties and develop social skills through adventure.
Even though the extreme weather conditions have interrupted things a bit this year, the scouts have cherished their camping experience and found joy in survival challenges, teamwork, and leisure sports.
This summer's intense monsoon here in Korea flooded the Saemangeum reclamation site just before the opening.
But the scouts managed to create their accommodation by laying down plastic pallets and pitching their tents on top.
The scouts' passion for the Jamboree remains undiminished.
I asked one from Ecuador why he become a scout.

Dami : You were there to watch the opening ceremony.
How was it?

Soo-hyung : Dami, let me tell you, it was splendid.
The opening ceremony took place at 8 PM Korea time on Wednesday, the second day of the Jamboree.
Dream Orchestra, composed of Korean scout members started with a live performance.
After that, the scouts formed a guard of honor, and the flag bearers from attending countries made their entrance.
Some celebrities also greeted scouts, survival expert Bear Grylls, K-pop artists, and even South Korea's President Yoon Suk-yeol attended.
He was a former scout member and said he had good memories from his scout days.
In his speech, he wished the friendships that have been nurtured here in Saemangeum to remain together forever.

Dami : Sounds really fun.
Now you mentioned 43-thousand teenagers from nearly 160 countries...
Tell us more about the participants.

Soo-hyung : Yes, Dami. I met a team of three French cyclists, La Cyclodyssée.

Dami : They planned an eight-month journey to cover the long journey, passing through Europe, the Caucasus Mountains, Central Asia, and the Silk Roads.
It was a 14-thousand-kilometer journey from Paris.
They arrived at Saemangeum to deliver messages about dreams.
This is the team leader Florian's message to the scouts worldwide.

Soo-hyung : One member, 22-year-old Antonin, said he started in the scouts when he was eight years old, and living as a scout member feels very natural to him.
Moreover, the team said that they chose to ride all the way there to raise awareness about the climate crisis issues.

Dami : And the extreme summer heat down in Saemangeum
But the sweltering heat apparently cut the fun short at the festival right?

Soo-hyung : Well, Dami. Even before the venue was opened in Saemangeum, there were some concerns about heat-related matters.
Despite the positive vibes, over 700 people at the venue were treated for heat-related illness, bug bites, and sunburn until Thursday morning.
Saemangeum Jamboree camping ground is a reclamation site, 8-point-8-4 square kilometers in total which is 2-point-5 times the size of Central Park in New York...

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2023-08-05, 12:00 (KST)