Scouts from Uplyme have been making the most of their time in South Korea recently as they attended the World Scout Jamboree.

Josh Dean and Thea Hodges, from Powder Monkeys Explorer Sea Scout Unit, based in Uplyme, visited South Korea with Unit 77 - The Rockpool Hermits - as part of the U.K. Contingent - numbering 4,500 young people and adult volunteers. “It’s a once in a lifetime experience”, said Josh, “I wanted to give it a go.” Thea described it as “the kind of opportunity that should not be turned down… I hoped it would help me become more confident in myself as a result of going”. Luckily for both of them, they were selected to go to the World Scout Jamboree with only 1 in 3 young people getting a place.

They visited the Gyeongbokgung Palace, one of the main royal palaces in Korea, with the rest of their unit

After a couple of years of fundraising and many training camps later, Josh and Thea touched down in Seoul, ready to make the most of their near three week adventure in South Korea. They started off by exploring the capital city, doing some “Seoul Searching”. They visited Gyeongbokgung Palace, to watch the changing of the royal guard ceremony , and then went to the Korean War Memorial and Museum to understand more about the history of the country. 

Of course, being in the middle of a heatwave, they managed to find the opportunity to cool off at Caribbean Bay, a water park in Seoul, where they partied hard and celebrated finally making it to South Korea. There was also the opportunity to enjoy some local food, making the most of the various restaurants they could visit in the city. 

Thea with other members of her Patrol in a restaurant in Seoul. However, it wasn’t just Seoul that they got to explore, Josh and Thea, like many other Scouts, visited the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) - the strip of land that acts as a buffer between North Korea and South Korea. They toured around the DMZ and learned more about why exists and the background of conflict in Korea, they left behind ribbons, symbolising the hope for peace and prosperity in Korea. “I found it incredibly interesting and engaging. In particular, walking down a tunnel that connected to North Korea was an amazing experience for me.” recalled Thea.

Arriving at the Jamboree site in time for the start of the World Scout Jamboree - Josh, Thea, and the rest of their unit quickly got to work putting their campsite together. “We ended up erecting tents on pallets” said Josh, “the ground wasn’t brilliant”. However, things got very competitive quite quickly, “we decided we wanted to build the tallest flagpole on camp” Josh said “one of my favourite memories is seeing it from miles around and being so proud of our unit”. 

Unit 77 walking to the opening ceremony, against the backdrop of the sunset at the Jamboree site. 

They both attended the opening ceremony, which celebrated the start of the World Scout Jamboree; “My best memory of the World Scout Jamboree was talking to people before the opening ceremony and hearing the chants and songs of their country that they sang together while we walked” said Thea, “This was my first moment of connection with Scouts from around the world.” The Opening Ceremony featured speeches by the president of South Korea, and the Chief Scout, Bear Grylls, who spoke of being “united as a movement, united by our promise that says that we will make this world a better place.” This was topped off by a concert and drone show celebrating the history of the World Scout Jamboree. 

Whilst they had planned to spend a significant time at the World Scout Jamboree, things were not going to plan - “The worst thing about the experience was that the activities we could do while in Saemangeum (the Jamboree site) were limited by the weather and conditions onsite” said Thea, recognising the difficulties they faced. Due to the significant challenges faced by the U.K. Continent, amid criticism of the poor facilities in the extreme heat and bad management of the jamboree,  they returned to Seoul for safety reasons. Such was the scale of the unfolding fiasco that it became headline news around the world. 

“When we were told we were leaving the World Scout Jamboree it was devastating, it only dawned on us then how big this would be” recalled Josh, “We were amongst the first to leave - when we and the rest of the U.K. Contingent arrived back in Seoul at the hotel, we were met by camera crews and photographers, even the Deputy British Ambassador was there to welcome us - we never expected it to happen how it did.” 

“I did not realise the impact of the World Scout Jamboree on Korea until I returned to Seoul after camping in Saemangeum and was being regularly stopped in the street by Korean people.” said Thea, “Often, they apologised to us about the conditions in Saemangeum and occasionally, they even gave us gifts.”

The generosity of the South Korean people was on display when a local football team had invited all of the U.K. contingent to watch a football match, with many enjoying the opportunity to unwind. 

Josh, Thea, and the rest of Unit 77 at the football match, unwinding after an intense few days at the jamboree site

However, being based on Seoul meant Josh and Thea didn’t miss out on much. They went to see a Taekwondo musical; celebrated culture day with thousands of other Scouts; Visited the Lotte World theme park; Experienced the Myeongdong Night Market; Visited Gangnam district in Seoul; Went in the Cheonggyecheon Stream; and Josh even had the chance to visit the LG Science Park to see South Korea’s well known industrial complex. 

To round off the Jamboree, the closing ceremony was moved to a football stadium in Seoul following a typhoon forcing the rest of the jamboree participants to leave site. They joined the 43,000 other participants and volunteers for one final time - that evening they received an apology from the South Korean Prime Minister for the conditions at the Jamboree site, and then enjoyed a 3 hour K-pop concert with fireworks at the end. It was a memorable end to an extraordinary couple of weeks for both Josh and Thea. 

When asked what they both got out of the jamboree Josh reflected “It was a totally different experience to the one we expected but we have made some great friends and am  looking forward to future adventures with them.” Would they recommend the jamboree to  Scouts in the future? Thea replied “if any young people reading this are thinking of signing up to the next World Scout Jamboree, do it! It's certainly worth it.”

Josh and Thea wished to pass on their thanks to all the local businesses and organisations that had supported them - the full list is available on 1st Lym Valley’s website: https://www.lymvalleyscouts.org.uk/world-scout-jamboree