National reputation soiled by predictable toilet shortage at Jamboree

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo inspects the makeshift toilets at the Saemangeum World Scout Jamboree on Aug. 5. [YONHAP]

The World Scout Jamboree might have gone down the toilet, yet ironically, it was the shortage of latrines that proved the source of much international embarrassment.

The lack of toilet facilities was a predictable problem, with repeated warnings about toilet shortages going back at least 10 years.

A joint research effort examining reports dating back to 2013 by the JoongAng Ilbo and People Power Party lawmaker Park Seong-min's office uncovered a 2013 report by the North Jeolla government highlighting problems associated with a lack of toilets.

The report was written after provincial authorities monitored the Asia-Pacific Scout Jamboree held in Japan's Yamaguchi Prefecture in August of that year.

It noted a shortage of toilets, adding that the campsite reeked because waste was buried onsite.

The report recommended that at least 700 bathroom stalls would be needed at the Saemangeum campsite.

In December 2017, a group of seven Democratic Party lawmakers led by Rep. Nam In-soon visited Yamaguchi Prefecture, which also hosted the World Scout Jamboree in 2015 on reclaimed land similar to Saemangeum.

This visit followed the Korean government's selection that year of Buan County's Saemangeum to host the campsite for the World Scout Jamboree.

According to the lawmakers' report, Katsuhisa Hironaka, Vice Governor of Yamaguchi Prefecture, informed the group that installing sanitary facilities was the most challenging task.

However, Yamaguchi's local government made efforts to maintain and keep the facilities clean throughout the Jamboree.

Significant improvements had been made since the Asia-Pacific Scout Jamboree in 2013 — for the 2015 World Scout Jamboree, Yamaguchi Prefecture installed 820 toilets and cleaned the stalls 70 times a day during the event.

The Saemangeum Development and Investment Agency also visited West Virginia, where the World Scout Jamboree was held in August 2019.

According to the agency's report, the Jamboree in West Virginia hosted 45,000 participants, and the campsite had 2,700 toilets installed.

The report emphasized that a similar number of bathroom stalls needed to be installed at Saemangeum to prevent the country's reputation from being fouled. It also advised stationing safety management personnel, as was the case in West Virginia.

The issue of sanitary facilities was also raised last December, just eight months before the official opening of the World Scout Jamboree at Saemangeum.

During a forum organized by the Democratic Party, Cha Mi-hui, a researcher at the Korea Tourism Development Institute, warned of the high risk of foul smells at the campsite due to the accumulation of human excrement and the challenges faced by the vacuum truck as it maneuvered around the area.

"Collecting waste should be restricted to the early morning hours, or a temporary facility to store waste should be installed within the campground," Cha said.

Ultimately, only 354 toilets were installed at Saemangeum for 45,000 Jamboree participants. To make matters worse, different entities handled the installation, cleaning and waste management.

The company that installed the toilets was based in Seoul, while the company responsible for cleaning was based in Iksan, North Jeolla. The company handling waste management was located in Buan County, North Jeolla.

In the public bid notification for the commission to clean showers and toilets, the organizing committee said bidding companies need to have only 15 employees.

The North Jeolla government is also accused of inflating the budget needed for toilet installation.

The local government requested that the budget for the Jamboree be doubled from 49.1 billion won ($37 million) to 99.8 billion won, including an additional 1.5 billion won for toilet installation.

The government allocated an additional 1.4 billion won for toilets based on a review by the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy, which deemed the requested unit costs to be excessive.

Nevertheless, a critical shortage of toilets — and the filthy state of the few ones available — emerged soon after the start of the Jamboree.

When the proverbial dung hit the fan, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo literally took matters into his own hands, cleaning the toilets himself on Aug, 4 and Aug. 6.

In the end, the central government stepped in and assumed control from the organizing committee and the North Jeolla government on Aug. 4.

"Due to the potential damage to the nation's reputation caused by unsanitary toilets, it is an area that the organizing committee and the North Jeolla government should have managed more diligently," said Rep. Park. "I plan to thoroughly investigate if the issues raised were not properly addressed during the National Assembly audit."

Park Sang-in, a professor of public administration at Seoul National University, stated that the toilet problem arose despite prior warnings primarily because the various institutions and agencies involved in World Scout Jamboree preparations did not clearly delineate their responsibilities or coordinate with related authorities.

BY KIM HYO-SEONG [lee.hojeong@joongang.co.kr]