Saemangeum Jamboree: what went wrong?

Participants of the 2023 Saemangeum World Scout Jamboree gathering in the shade of a tent at the Jambyeori campsite in Buan. — The Korea Herald/ANN

SAEMANGEUM is a reclaimed tidal flat area of Buan, North Jeolla Province, which was dammed by the government’s Saemangeum Seawall Project in 2006. The area was first introduced as a potential location to host the event in 2015 when the Korea Scout Association chose Saemangeum over Goseong, Gangwon Province, in its bid to host the 2023 World Scout Jamboree.

In 2015, the Park Geun-hye administration pushed for Korea’s victory in the bid, saying that the government will provide the support needed to host the jamboree successfully. While these efforts were halted due to Park’s impeachment in December 2016, the Moon Jae-in administration resumed work on the bid once Moon took office in May 2017. Saemangeum’s bid to host the World Scout Jamboree was successful in August 2017.