Jamboree participants headed to Seoul and 7 other regions
A total of 1,022 buses are to transport the jamboree participants from 156 countries to new accommodations in eight cities and provinces, including Seoul and Gyeonggi Province, which surrounds the capital, according to the committee.
The government has secured 66 lodgings in Gyeonggi, 18 in the central province of South Chungcheong, 17 in Seoul, eight in Incheon, seven in the central province of North Chungcheong, six in the central city of Daejeon, three in the central administrative city of Sejong and another three in the southwestern province of North Jeolla, it said.
By number of people, Gyeonggi is to accommodate 18,800, followed by 6,300 in South Chungcheong, 4,400 in Seoul, 3,900 in North Chungcheong, 3,700 in Incheon, 1,900 in Daejeon and 1,100 in Sejong, it noted.
About 4,000 participants are to stay in North Jeolla, to which Saemangeum belongs, to take part in the remaining jamboree programs, the committee said.
The government initially pushed to move all of the participants to the capital area but expanded the scope to the central provinces due to difficulties in securing a large number of available lodgings in a short period of time. Most of the accommodations are university dormitories, public institutions' training centers and educational facilities.
The committee said it will cooperate with the police to take all measures to ensure that the buses carrying the participants can move as safely and quickly as possible.
The quadrennial global event kicked off in Saemangeum on Aug. 1 and was scheduled to continue through Saturday. The evacuation decision was made due to Typhoon Khanun's expected landfall on the nation's southeastern coast Thursday morning, bringing heavy rain and winds with a maximum speed of up to 44 meters per second that the state weather agency warns are strong enough to derail a running train.
Prior to the early departure decision, the overall situation at the Saemangeum campground was gradually improving after initial woes associated with a scorching heat wave, a lack of preparation and the withdrawal of some contingents.
The young Scouts plan to take part in various cultural experience programs at their new destinations.
All of them plan to gather in Seoul on Friday to watch a K-pop concert scheduled to be held at Sangam World Cup Stadium in western Seoul that night, the committee said, cautioning about severe traffic congestion in the capital throughout the day.
The concert was originally scheduled to take place in Saemangeum last Sunday but was postponed due to concerns about accidents and heat-related illnesses.
«The K-pop concert will be held following the jamboree closing ceremony Friday night. The young Scouts and other participants will return to their respective lodgings after the concert before returning home the next day,» a committee official said.
