Hong Kong scouts spend night on South Korean airport floor before flying home, as parents demand answers over disastrous trip

Hong Kong scouts slept on the floor of South Korea’s Incheon Airport as they waited overnight to fly home on Wednesday morning because of an approaching typhoon, prompting some parents to demand an explanation from the city’s top scouting association.

The youths were forced to return early from the 12-day Scout Jamboree at campsite Saemangeum in Busan after organisers cancelled the event on Monday because of the encroaching Typhoon Khanun.

The Scout Association of Hong Kong opted to immediately withdraw its 460 scouts, following behind other contingents from the United Kingdom, the United States and Japan. The event was originally set to host 43,000 teenagers, mostly aged 14 to 17, from 158 countries.

Hong Kong scouts at world jamboree in South Korea disappointed event cut short

But scores of Hong Kong parents took to social media to demand an explanation from the association after their children were moved from the air-conditioned Kia Vision Square education centre and sent to Seoul’s airport at 2am, only a short distance away, hours before the flight.

“It is 1am now. The children are already in the airport, waiting for the 8.50am flight. It is so ridiculous that the children are not allowed to stay at Kia Vision Square overnight and have to wait at the airport for over seven hours,” one social media user said. “It is unreasonable. Why did the association’s management make this decision?

One parent who gave her surname as Lai said she had paid about HK$12,000 (US$1,536) for her son’s trip. She called on the association to explain the “unsatisfactory” sleeping arrangements at the airport.

“My son was suddenly told to tidy up his belongings and leave Kia Vision Square at 11pm [Tuesday] night. The arrangement was very messy,” she said.

Lai added that her son was suffering from serious sunburn on his neck, after leaving the campsite on Tuesday morning and walking for an hour to reach a bus station.

Two other scouts fainted due to the extreme heat and were sent to the hospital, she said. The group returned to Hong Kong on Wednesday.

The mother urged the association to arrange an alternative event to make up for the shortened trip. “For example, they can hold a camping trip during the Christmas holiday. It will certainly be a good memory for my son, as well as other scouts,” she said.

The Post has contacted the association for comment.

Sit Chak-Long, a 17-year-old scout, was among those flying back on Wednesday morning and said he and many others had set up their sleeping mats on the airport floor for the night.

But Sit said he was happy to be home and had some good memories from the scout event. “On cultural day, we were able to get to know other scouts from different countries. I met a few Australian friends there.”

460 Hong Kong scouts at world event in South Korea to evacuate over Typhoon Khanun

Fellow scout Jamile Shih said she felt sad the jamboree was cut short since such events were rare and the group’s early departure meant they had missed out on a K-pop concert set for August 12.

“Joining the jamboree as a youth scout is only once in a lifetime, as it is held once every four years. Next time I can only join as a helper. It’s sad it ended that fast,” the 16-year-old said.

Hong Kong’s Home and Youth Affairs Bureau confirmed the scouts would be returning home in groups on Wednesday.

Earlier this week, tens of thousands of teenagers at the jamboree reported feeling unwell amid a sweltering heatwave, with many youths receiving treatment at the campsite’s hospital for insect bites and heat-related illnesses, such as fever and skin rashes.