Jamboree site swamped with controversy long before scouts arrived

Economy

Published: 09 Aug. 2023, 18:05 Updated: 09 Aug. 2023, 21:33

Jamboree site swamped with controversy long before scouts arrived

Puddles of water are visible across the Jamboree campsite in Saemangeum, North Jeolla, after a heavy rainfall on July 18, a fortnight before the event. [YONHAP]

Amidst the backdrop of land reclaimed from the sea on Korea's southern coast, controversy swirls around the decision to choose Saemangeum as the location for the 25th World Scout Jamboree.

The unique terrain of Saemangeum has exacerbated the severe heat and bug problems.

With a total cost of 22.79 trillion won ($17.3 billion), the Saemangeum project originated from the idea to secure farmland through land reclamation in response to rice scarcity. The project gained political prominence during the 1987 presidential election as then-candidate of the conservative party Roh Tae-woo targeted the votes from the liberal Jeolla provinces. The world’s longest 33.9-kilometer (21-mile) seawall connecting Buan and Kunsan, both in North Jeolla, was finally completed in 2010, nearly two decades after the construction began. It was the country’s biggest state project.

As Typhoon Khanun loomed, the World Organization of the Scout Movement decided to evacuate the campsite ahead of schedule. This decision stemmed from Saemangeum's limitations as a campsite, arising from its transformation from tidal flats into a campsite and resulting in drainage issues.

Even after the departure of the Jamboree, Saemangeum remains at the center of political wrangling.

What kind of place is Saemangeum?

The name "Saemangeum" originates from the combination of the Korean word meaning new, sae, and the initial letters of famous plain fields in North Jeolla, Mangyeong and Gimjae, hoping that the reclaimed site will become like those fields.

The Saemangeum project initially aimed to convert the sea into arable land to tackle rice scarcity. Also driven by political motives to balance development leaning towards the provinces of North and South Gyeongsang, the provinces of North and South Jeolla were chosen to embark on a massive agricultural reclamation endeavor.

Covering around 40,900 hectares, the Saemangeum project envisions new land and lakes, including 29,100 hectares of inland and 11,800 hectares of freshwater reservoirs. The area is equivalent to two-thirds of Seoul's area and is four times the size of Paris.

However, after seawall construction began in November 1991, Saemangeum became a battleground for environmental and political debates.

While the land was initially eyed for farming, following governments had different ideas about the newfound vast land, and the project's goals shifted to urban development inspired by Dubai's Palm Islands and Macau in response to changes in domestic and international contexts.

The spacious land, competitive land prices, tax benefits and specialized zones for industries like battery production have attracted corporate interest for investment. Furthermore, the development of a port, an international airport, and a waterfront city has fostered expectations for foreign investments and tourism promotion.

As of June, 48 percent of the area has been completed or is underway for reclamation. The government aims to complete the entire development by 2050.

Vulnerability to drainage issues and heat

The Jamboree's idyllic camping grounds were, in fact, repurposed paddy fields, underscoring the challenges of hosting a large-scale summer camping event in an environment originally unfit for its purpose.

Saemangeum’s zones include agricultural, tourist and leisure, mixed-development and industrial research areas.

The chosen location for the Jamboree event falls under the agricultural land category, where constructing extensive drainage infrastructure is unfeasible. Agricultural land, with its flat terrain designed for water retention, easily leads to water accumulation. The lack of dedicated drainage systems means even minor rainfall can leave standing water on the Jamboree site. Moreover, concerns have been raised regarding the lack of natural shade on the site due to the absence of trees.

The cancellation of the August 2022 Pre-Jamboree event, intended to assess preparations before the main event, raised eyebrows. While officially attributed to Covid-19 concerns, insiders suggest that unresolved drainage issues played a crucial role in the sudden decision. A 140-millimeter rainfall in May exposed the site’s susceptibility to waterlogging.

The confluence of water puddles further exacerbated by soaring temperatures, transformed the Jamboree site into a sauna. An infestation of mosquitoes and other insects led to a surge in health concerns among the participants.

Bird's eye view of the Jamboree Campsite in Saemangeum, North Jeolla [YONHAP]

Government’s disregard of preemptive alerts

Allegedly driven by political motivations, it was the Park Geun-hye administration that applied to host the 2023 World Scout Jamboree, and the event was awarded to the following Moon Jae-in administration in August 2017, shortly after Moon was elected president.

Yet an anonymous interview with a former government official in a local newspaper on June 30 revealed that concerns about Saemangeum’s vulnerability to extreme weather were overlooked. The decision to “promote Saemangeum” seemingly led to the exclusion of more suitable alternatives in neighboring regions.

Another government official, also under anonymity, said they had emphasized the necessity for a more comprehensive evaluation due to “substantially escalated risks associated with hosting the event at Saemangeum” due to this year’s amplified climate anomalies like intensified heavy rains and heat waves.

"The moment the government chose to conduct the Jamboree on a treeless landfill site, I thought it was truly insane,” Oh Dong-pil, head of the Saemangeum Citizens' Ecological Survey Team, said in a separate interview on a radio program on Monday.

"In summer, such a site becomes a marshland after rainfall and transforms into a furnace under the sun. Understanding the immense challenges, when they mentioned setting up tents on the landfill site and enduring the summer's heat, I denounced it as madness three years ago,” Oh said.

Environmental damage

The conversion of the ecologically significant tidal flats into a reclamation site for the Jamboree has sparked intense debate due to its previous status as a vital clam-producing region and its potential for ecological restoration.

An umbrella group consisting of 43 nationwide organizations expressed concerns over the contradiction between the Jamboree's aims and the environmental impact of the reclamation of vast tidal flats.

"The landfill [reclamation] activities at the Jamboree site within the Haechang tidal flats are encroaching upon Saemangeum's last remaining tidal flat,” the group stressed.

As far back as 1997, the scientific journal Nature warned that tidal flats offer benefits a hundred times that of reclaimed land and ten times that of forests, raising concerns about these areas being converted.

Korean tidal flats stand as vital global carbon sinks. Research led by Professor Kim Jong-sung's team at Seoul National University in 2021 revealed that domestic tidal flats have the capacity to store approximately 13 million tons of carbon and annually absorb between 260,000 to 490,000 tons of carbon dioxide. To contextualize this, tidal flats could offset carbon emissions equivalent to those from up to 200,000 cars.

Rising sea levels also pose a threat to reclaimed areas. Such areas are highly susceptible to flooding, with Saemangeum facing such risks given its completion target of 2050.

President Yoon Suk Yeol, center, and other delegates, including LS Group Chairman Christopher Koo, fourth from the right, attend an investment ceremony held at the Gunsan Saemangeum Convention Center in Gunsan County, North Jeolla, on Aug. 2. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

What will happen with the vacated Saemangeum?

The government in June designated an industrial complex at Saemangeum as an international investment promotion zone, providing a range of tax incentives and exemptions.

Domestic and foreign companies will be given three-year exemptions from corporate and income taxes if they start a new company or install a new facility at the industrial complex in Saemangeum. Investors will also receive 50 percent cuts in corporate and income taxes for an additional two years.

This year alone, Saemangeum has witnessed investments amounting to around 2 trillion won.

A significant development arose with LS and L&F, which together agreed to invest 1 trillion won to build a battery materials plant in Gunsan, North Jeolla, in June.

The joint venture, tentatively named LS-L&F Battery Solution, will build a precursor plant in Saemangeum. Precursors are raw materials used to make cathodes and are produced by combining materials such as nickel, cobalt and manganese. They account for 70 percent of the cost of cathodes, the material that in turn accounts for 40 percent of battery costs.

During a secondary battery investment ceremony on Aug. 2, President Yoon Suk Yeol emphasized the pivotal role of secondary batteries in the global technology race, paralleling their significance with semiconductors.

"The government will fully provide customized support so that more high-tech companies and foreign investments will gather at Saemangeum," Yoon said.

Looking ahead, Saemangeum's strategic timeline includes the completion of a new port by 2026, an International Airport in 2029 and a railway in 2030.

Although the currently designated purpose of the land for the Jamboree event is agricultural, there remains potential for alternative uses such as leisure and industry.

Former North Jeolla Province governor, Kim Gwan-yeong, pledged during the local elections in June last year to develop attractions and an international school for nurturing global youth within Saemangeum.

Ambitious plans include attracting global theme parks akin to Disneyland. The commitment to establishing an international school has taken shape as a concrete concept, termed the "K-pop International Education City." The province is to carry out research this month.

BY SEO JI-EUN [seo.jieun1@joongang.co.kr]