Ice cream and snacks given out as Koreans try to make up for botched jamboree

From sharing a treat of 300 ice creams and delivering boxes of assorted snacks for Scouts, ordinary Koreans couldn’t help but do something to make amends for the botched World Scout Jamboree that took place in Saemangeum, North Jeolla Province.

Fredrik, an adult member of the Swedish contingent, shared with The Korea Herald the story of a mystery man who wanted to buy some ice cream for jamboree participants suffering from extreme heat.

“We don’t know his name, but he wanted to do something and went to buy 300 ice creams for all of the scouts on the bus," he told The Herald.

The pleasant encounter with the generous man occurred Tuesday, when the Swedish Scouts spent the day at a mud festival in Boryeong, South Chungcheong Province. The city’s annual mud fest had wrapped up on Sunday, but reopened on a smaller scale especially for the Scouts following the closure of the jamboree campsite due to an approaching typhoon.

Jamboree participants left the campsite on a reclaimed tidal flat on Tuesday and relocated to various locations across the country, including Seoul, Incheon and others, in yet another blow to the event already marred by a heat wave, bug bites, hygiene issues and early withdrawals of some contingents.

"We’ve had a good time at the jamboree. We are Scouts and face troubles together with a smile," Fredrik said.

Some 2,000 Scouts who relocated to Jeonju, North Jeolla Province, received a special delivery on Wednesday. The packages, prepared by local volunteers, contained Korean snacks ranging from chocolate-filled cookies to fruit jelly and chewy candies.

Yoon Seung-hyun at the Jeonju Volunteer Service Center said over 40 local volunteers from various local groups responded to his call for help in the packaging process. It took about 2 1/2 hours to prepare the 2,000 boxes, which were delivered to where the Scouts were staying later that day.

"We heard that the Scouts enjoyed the snacks. We hope that our endeavor somehow brings positive outcomes. Should the need arise, we are prepared to offer any type of assistance,” Yoon said.