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Participants in the Saemangeum World Scout Jamboree held in North Jeolla Province fill water bottles in the scorching heat on Aug. 2. (Yonhap)

Hundreds of people have fallen ill with heat-related symptoms while attending the 25th World Scout Jamboree in the reclaimed Saemangeum region of Buan County in North Jeolla Province.

In a briefing Wednesday afternoon, the Saemangeum World Scout Jamboree organizing committee explained, “Since the opening on Aug. 1, 807 people complained of headaches and other symptoms at the event site, and 400 of them were confirmed to have heat-related illness.”

The committee added that all of the individuals in question showed only minor symptoms, with no one found to be suffering from severe ones.

The Jeonbuk Fire Service confirmed that as of 4 pm on Wednesday, 11 people with heat-related symptoms had been taken to a hospital at the event site for treatment. Between Monday and Wednesday, a total of 59 participants had been hospitalized due to heat-related illness.

Since Monday, the Saemangeum region where the event is taking place has been experiencing high temperatures in excess of 31 degrees Celsius, or 87.8 degrees Fahrenheit.

As a measure to prepare for a possible heatwave, the organizing committee arranged for 1,722 shaded rest areas and a 7.4-km misted cave tunnel. In cases of severe symptoms, it has six doctor helicopters in place to transport patients.

The committee also said it planned to “encourage the use of alternative sites for programs that involve a lot of physical activity.”

The 25th World Scout Jamboree is a large-scale camping activity that is taking place at the Saemangeum Jamboree site in Buan from Aug. 1 to 12. Around 43,000 young people between the ages of 14 and 17 are attending from 158 countries.

By Kim Yong-hee, Gwangju correspondent

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