Rob Pickess and Amir Ahmed: World Scout Jamboree 2023

Today Rob Pickess and Amir Ahmed from Essex Scouts came to talk to us about this year’s World Scout Jamboree held in Korea.

The Jamboree was attended by some 40,000 from around the world. The UK contingent numbered about 4,500. They were divided into units. Each unit consisted of four leaders and 36 scouts. Rob was one of the leaders and Amir one of the scouts in “Unit 20”.

After a selection process the scouts attended a number of preliminary training camps, where they learned basic skills in such things as sailing and cooking.

The trip was scheduled to last three weeks, including twelve days spent on the Jamboree site. Before travelling to the site the UK scouts were put up in hotels in Seoul. They were able to visit some of the sights, including a local museum.

The problems started when they arrived on site. It was built on a reclaimed salt marsh. Because of the nature of the soil plants had not thrived, which meant there was no natural shade from the sun. The walk to the stadium where the opening ceremony was held was along a path which gradually became narrower and narrower. When they started they walked 36 abreast. By the time they got to the stadium they were two abreast. On arrival at the stadium everyone had to go through airport-style security as there were worries about the safety of the South Korean President, who was attending. In all it took 2½ hours to get inside the stadium.

The campsite where they had to pitch their tents was very muddy. They had 17 hours without toilets. The food was not good. After three days the British Embassy advised the UK scouts to leave.

When it became known that the UK contingent was pulling out scouts of other nationalities descended on them, anxious to swap items and get some British souvenirs. The Australian scouts offered to help them get on their coaches when they left the following morning. However, as the left they were given a slow handclap by other European scouts,

Pulling out early was the right thing to do because it enabled the British scouts to secure hotel accommodation before other nationalities started pulling out a day later.

In view of what had happened, the entrance fees to attractions in and near Seoul were halved. This was a nice gesture but didn’t benefit Unit 20 that much because they had paid in advance for many of them. They did get a free visit, including free transport, to the local Legoland, which was managed by a former UK scout leader. They were also able to visit the Demilitarised Zone, where they could across into North Korea, 5 kilometers away. The local museum had dioramas of times in Korean history, including a diorama of a military operation during the Korean War.

Despite the problems they had had, the scouts enjoyed their time in Korea. Rob hoped that lessons had been learned which would be taken into account by the organisers of future World Jamborees.