SEOUL, Aug. 9 (UPI) — One day after evacuating tens of thousands of scouts ahead of an impending typhoon, South Korea on Wednesday unveiled a lineup of 18 K-pop performers for a massive concert that the government hopes will end the nightmarish World Scout Jamboree on a high note.
The concert, dubbed K-pop Super Live, will feature a star-studded roster, including NewJeans, NCT Dream, Itzy, Mamamoo and The Boyz, South Korea’s Culture Ministry announced in a press release.
It will be held on Friday night at Seoul World Cup Stadium, a 66,000-seat venue that hosts soccer games and concerts.
“These top-tier artists will showcase the essence and allure of K-culture in a mesmerizing concert that will unite over 40,000 enthusiastic youth scouts from more than 150 countries around the world,” Culture Minister Park Bo-gyoon said in a statement.
The lineup announcement comes after officials completed a mass evacuation of the Saemangeum campground, located 110 miles southwest of Seoul, while Typhoon Khanun bears down on the country.
More than 1,000 buses were deployed to bring 37,000 scouts and volunteers to college dormitories, government training centers and other sites at eight locations, primarily in the greater Seoul region.
The final bus took off from the campsite at 7 p.m. Tuesday evening, Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min said at a briefing Wednesday.
Lee said the scouts, mainly 14- to 18-year-olds, have begun taking part in cultural activities and outings, including visits to Hwaseong Fortress, the Boryeong Mud Festival and the Demilitarized Zone.
Prime Minister Han Duck-soo chaired an emergency response meeting on Wednesday and vowed that the government would provide “impeccable” support for the scouts until the event ends on Saturday.
“Although the opportunities to interact and experience with participants from other countries have decreased, the government will do its best to create a new opportunity to feel the wonders of Korea,” he said.
Typhoon Khanun, expected to make landfall on Thursday morning with heavy rains and wind speeds of up to 82 mph, is the latest calamity to strike a jamboree that has been plagued by a scorching heat wave and subpar campsite conditions.
Hundreds of attendees suffered from heat-related illnesses over the first days of the event, which kicked off on Aug. 1 amid South Korea’s hottest summer in years.
South Korean organizers have also come under heavy criticism for a lack of preparation — starting with the selection of the campsite, a reclaimed tidal flat that has no trees and offers very little natural shade.
A shortage of hospital beds, waterlogged conditions due to previous monsoon rains, swarms of mosquitoes and reports of spoiled food added to a litany of woes that have cast the host country in a poor light.
Some of the jamboree’s largest contingents, including thousands of U.S. and British scouts, left the campground over the weekend due to safety concerns.
In the latest mishap, a bus carrying Swiss scouts on their way to Seoul on Wednesday collided with a local bus in the city of Suncheon, injuring three scouts and five other passengers.
Political infighting has also begun in earnest, with the ruling People Power Party and the opposition Democratic Party exchanging accusations and blame over the jamboree’s shortcomings.
Democratic Party spokesman Park Seong-joon on Wednesday slammed reports that the administration of President Yoon Suk-yeol was mobilizing up to 1,000 public employees to support the K-pop concert.
“The whole country is sharing the responsibility of an incompetent government,” Park said. “What the Yoon Suk-yeol government has shown the world is total incompetence. Please wake up and do your job.”
People Power Party officials, meanwhile, are calling for an audit of the jamboree’s budget, with details emerging that organizers lavished public funds on operational and personnel expenses rather than needed infrastructure. South Korea has been preparing for the event since it won its hosting bid in 2017.
For now, South Korean officials are placing their hopes in the global star power of K-pop to help chase away the dark clouds hanging over the jamboree.
Friday’s concert will be hosted by actor Gong Myoung, ITZY’s Yuna and NewJeans’ Hyein, the Culture Ministry said.
Also participating will be Shownu X Hyungwon, Fromis 9, Zerobaseone, Kang Daniel, Kwon Eun-bi, Jo Yuri, P1Harmony, Kard, The New Six and Atbo.
