Confusion in Jamboree Accommodation Assignment... Prepared Meals for 175 Yemeni Scouts Went to Waste

After Dormitory Assignment at Hyejeon University, Members Who Have Not Entered the Country Identified
"Sweated While Cleaning and Preparing, Feeling Empty"

Due to Typhoon 'Khanun' approaching the Korean Peninsula, the Saemangeum World Scout Jamboree participants were to be urgently evacuated from the Saemangeum campsite, but confusion arose regarding accommodation assignments. The Jamboree Organizing Committee assigned accommodations to Yemeni participants who had not yet arrived in the country, causing inconvenience to the institutions that provided the lodging.

According to Chungnam Province and Hongseong County on the 9th, the organizing committee announced the previous morning that about 5,200 Jamboree participants would be housed in 18 facilities across Chungnam, and assigned the dormitory of Hyejeon University in Hongseong as accommodation for 175 Yemeni participants.

World Scout Jamboree participants are having breakfast on the 9th at Imsil Youth Training Center in Imsil-gun, Jeonbuk. / Provided by Imsil-gun Office [Image source=Yonhap News]

In response, officials from Chungnam Province, Hongseong County, and Hyejeon University urgently prepared to welcome the participants. They inspected the cleanliness of the dormitory and arranged a catering buffet for 175 meals. They also prepared banners to welcome the participants. However, the situation persisted where it was unknown when and at what time the participants would arrive. Even late into the afternoon, the participants did not arrive.

The organizing committee informed them after 10 p.m. that night that the Yemeni participants had not entered the country. All the prepared buffet food was discarded. A Hyejeon University dormitory official said, "It was only late at night that we heard the students who said they would come to the dormitory had not actually entered the country," adding, "There was no initial information about their arrival time, and neither the Ministry of the Interior and Safety officials nor the county officials knew the whereabouts of the participants."

The official expressed frustration, saying, "At first, the county requested the school to provide accommodation. Since the school is currently on vacation, it was difficult to prepare immediately, but since the nation said it was urgent, we worked hard from the morning, calling cleaning companies and preparing everything. It was disappointing to hear they would not come," and added, "There is still no explanation about what happened."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.