Photo Illustration by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/Getty
The World Scout Jamboree this month in South Korea was to have been a great propaganda blitz akin to the glory days of the 1988 Seoul Olympics, the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, and the 2002 World Cup—heralding South Korea’s debut as a major power able to compete with the rest of the world.
In the end, Korea’s turn hosting this year’s 25th edition of the quadrennial shindig ended up being somewhat of a national embarrassment. Officials talked about staging events indoors, to which aggrieved parents of American and British kids said no thanks to that—and pulled out before it was all over. Others followed.
By Thursday, all 36,000 Scouts had fled what was described as “wetlands,” moving to dry land and indoor lodging, even as Typhoon Khanun bore down upon the country, pouring more water onto the scene and creating more fears and havoc. The Americans had one break: Many moved to Camp Humphreys, the sprawling base south of Seoul that is headquarters for the 28,500 U.S. troops in the country.