World Scout Jamboree kicks off in Saemangeum

World Scout Jamboree, the world's largest youth camping festival hosted by South Korea this year, on Tuesday brought together young adventurers from 159 countries to the reclaimed Saemangeum in North Jeolla Province.

The World Scout Jamboree runs until Aug. 12 on the reclaimed area, which is three times the area of Yeouido, at 8.84 square kilometers. The event is attended by more than 30,000 teens aged 14 to 17, 3,496 adult leaders and 9,709 staffers. This is the first global scouting event taking place after the COVID-19 outbreak.

Held every four years by the World Organization of the Scout Movement, the festival is being held again in Korea after its first in Goseong, Gangwon Province, in 1991. Korea is the sixth country in the world to hold the jamboree at least twice.

Scouts stay in 22,000 tents for nearly two weeks and participate in various physical training and cultural exchange programs. A total of 174 activities will take place, including traditional scouting programs such as lighting fires, making rafts and rock climbing. Programs that introduce the host country Korea, such as K-pop dance lessons, taekwondo and traditional Korean craft experiences, will also be on offer.

Also called the "Youth Culture Olympics," there will be exhibitions and experience programs to promote better understanding of other countries. A Food House where participants can experience dietary cultures of 20 countries and nine religion halls have been set up.

A drone show in which 500 drones create a portrait of Robert Baden-Powell, the founder of the worldwide scout movement, is to be one of the highlights for the opening ceremony Wednesday. British adventurer Bear Grylls, the UK Scout Association's chief scout, and Polish President Andrzej Duda are also expected to visit Saemangeum on the day. Poland is the next host country of the World Scout Jamboree.

On Sunday, dubbed "Cultural Exchange Day," a K-pop concert featuring 11 K-pop groups, including Ive and StayC, will be held. At the closing ceremony on Aug. 11, the scout flag will be delivered to Poland representatives, marking the end of the two-week international event.

With tens of thousands expected to descend on the site, the Jamboree Committee is running a monitoring room to manage patients and prevent crowded accidents. A temporary fire station and police station have also been set up. To cope with any adverse weather events and flooding, 100,000 plastic panels had been prepared underneath the tents.

To keep participants cool in the sweltering heat, a total of 1,720 shelters, 7.2-kilometer-long vine tunnels and 57 fog spraying facilities have been set up throughout the Jamboree territory. In case of typhoons or heavy rain, the Jamboree Committee is prepared to evacuate participants to 342 places, including nearby schools and gymnasiums.

Due to the heat wave, some participants have already reported symptoms of heatstroke and other heat-related diseases. According to the Jeonbuk Fire Department, 11 participants -- six women and five men -- from Sweden and England showed symptoms of heatstroke, high fever and dehydration as of 6 a.m. on Tuesday and were taken to the Jamboree Hospital. The 11 have all been discharged.

"As it is the first large-scale youth international event to be held after the COVID-19 pandemic, we want to deliver a message of overcoming frustration and pain and developing resilience to draw dreams of hope. We will operate the event without a hitch so that all teenage participants can enjoy and learn as much as they want," said Choi Chang-haeng, secretary-general of the Jamboree Committee.