hankyoreh

On Friday, the closing ceremony of the 2023 Saemangeum World Scout Jamboree and the “K-Pop Super Live” concert were held at the Seoul World Cup Stadium in the capital city.

The harrowing schedule and the side effects of Typhoon Khanun kept everyone on their toes until the start of the festivities.

In the end, it was K-pop stars such as Ive and NewJeans who cleaned up the nightmarish mess of the jamboree, which had, for all intents and purposes, come to a premature end.

The more than 40,000 scouts from over 140 countries who had been scattered across the country, traveled to the concert venue in more than 1,400 buses over a three-hour period.

After the closing ceremony, a two-hour K-pop concert began at 7 pm, featuring dazzling performances by groups such as NewJeans, Ive, NCT Dream, Itzy, Mamamoo, and The Boyz.

As the concert began, the scouts swayed to the beat and sang along. Cheers erupted whenever a group appeared, and the undulating light of fluorescent glow sticks filled the stadium.

It drizzled during the show, forcing the scouts to wear rain gear and hats, but they didn’t seem to mind.

The concert made up for the disappointment the scouts experienced due to the slipshod organization of the jamboree, but even preparation for the concert did not go smoothly.

Some scouts were unhappy with the concert seating arrangements, refusing to sit down and demanding to be reassigned. They entered the stadium with high hopes of seeing K-pop stars up close, only to find themselves in corners of the stadium with obstructed views of the stage or the screen.

Ushers, who had been called from public enterprises, had a hard time dealing with those who refused to sit down.

“The seating arrangements caused quite a bit of chaos at the concert venue,” commented one usher who is employed by a public enterprise. “Not enough meals were prepared for the scouts as well, so I heard that some scouts were only offered bready snacks.”

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The government, seemingly conscious of the controversy surrounding the lack of preparation for the jamboree, deployed thousands of police officers to ensure safety.

The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency deployed more than 2,500 officers from 43 riot police units to manage the crowds, and 11 broadcasting lighting vehicles were also deployed as the event ended at night.

In addition, the police deployed one additional riot police unit (60 officers) each to the popular areas of Itaewon, Gangnam, and Hongdae in anticipation of the thousands of adults who had overseen the young scouts going sightseeing around the city after the event.

Around the venue, 412 traffic police officers were deployed to control traffic on World Cup Road to prevent traffic congestion.

While there were no major disruptions, there were some scuffles between people trying to turn onto World Cup Road and police officers trying to stop them, as the road closure and detour was not well publicized.

Meanwhile, near the stadium, several fans of FC Seoul, whose team plays at the Seoul World Cup Stadium, tried to stage one-man protests but were detained by police.

By Shim Wu-sam, staff reporter; Chai Yoon-tae, staff reporter; Nam Ji-hyeon, staff reporter

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