Jamboree failure-caused void filled by performances of teenage K-pop stars

“The K-Pop concert was a savior for the 2023 World Scout Jamboree, where flops continued to occur.”

What’s been said has proven true in every possible sense. The 2023 World Scout Jamboree, held on the 1st in Saemangeum, Buan County, North Jeolla Province, was controversial due to poor management from the beginning of the event despite its preparation period of six years. Although Saemangeum is a reclaimed land without shade, measures to prepare for heat waves were insufficient, and essential sanitary facilities such as showers and toilets were in short supply to say the least.

Fortunately, the Jamboree, which began in a near-failure state, ended with acclamation. The K-pop concert, which was originally scheduled to be held at a special stage in Saemangeum on the 6th, was held at the Seoul World Cup Stadium in Mapo-gu, Seoul on Friday as the venue and schedule were changed due to the heatwave and typhoon. At the concert, 43,000 scouts from 153 countries enjoyed K-pop performances. In a live broadcast, youth scout members seemed excited as they were captured on live TV cameras, waving their smartphones with the name of their country of origin on the screen. As if trying to make up for negative public opinions about the poor management of the Jamboree, which has become a laughing stock to the world, the concert live cameras also showed K-pop singers' performances and animated scout members from around the world side by side. These scenes led the people to see the elevated presence of K-pop, leaving them feel bittersweet but also fortunate at the same time.

The K-pop concert, which was broadcast live for about two hours, featured 19 K-pop groups, including NewJeans, IVE, and NCT Dream. NewJeans was not originally planning to appear, but they rescheduled and took the stage. IVE also said that they could not participate due to the concert date conflict but announced that they would participate in the concert the day before the concert. K-pop stars greeted scouts around the world in English before and between songs. Singers from English-speaking countries or with experience living in related countries spoke to the scouts in fluent English. Quite a few singers were not fluent in English but took the time to memorize English sentences to greet the scouts. Although the singers were not related to the organizing committee or government departments that prepared the Jamboree, they made an effort to prepare their words in English for the overseas fans for the stage performance on the day. Despite the heavy rain, some girl groups performed the choreography while wearing high heels, filling the gaps caused by the Jamboree flops. It starkly contrasts irresponsible actions displayed when the Jamboree Organizing Committee said to a Seoul official who inquired about the cost burden of the scout members' COVID-19 test, "The moment they leave Saemangeum, it is not our responsibility."

Those who should have raised the national standing by leveraging the Jamboree prepared for six years are the Organizing Committee, North Jeolla Province, and related government departments, not teenage K-pop stars. Hopefully, we won't see any more amateurish moves to compensate for the blunder at international events with Korean stars active on a global stage.