About forty scouts from the Breda region will leave for South Korea this summer to participate in the global Jamboree event, a large gathering of scouts from all over the world. They met in Oisterwijk on Saturday to get to know each other better. Because the Dutch young people are on average 20 centimeters taller than Koreans, the tents are adapted and made larger at the request of the Dutch. Otherwise, they will literally be hanging out with their legs.
Sixteen-year-old Lotte from Breda is one of the scouts going to Korea. A lot of money has to be paid for the trip, because it costs no less than four thousand euros. It is therefore something different from a school trip to London or Paris.
Lotte has handled this smartly: “I have been sponsored by family members and friends and I have taken a job, picking strawberries. It is difficult to raise that amount, but it will work.”
“You can only do this once in your life!”
In Korea, 50,000 scouts from 160 countries attend the Jamboree. Getting to know peers from other countries and cultures is something that draws Lotte the most to the event. The program also includes a day trip to the border with North Korea, the most heavily guarded border in the world, but due to tensions between North and South Korea, it is still unclear whether that can continue.
17-year-old Robin from Breda is also one of the lucky ones who is going to South Korea and he is already enthusiastic: “Fantastic! We also have a super nice group. My parents also said: ‘you can only do this once in do your life’. I’m totally happy, this is so much fun!”
Robin is also sponsored to make the expensive trip. He himself has a job at the Jumbo to save for the trip.
One of the activities that Robin is really looking forward to is spending the night with a Korean family: “That’s cool, that’s even better next to the Jamboree.”
“Making friends, that’s really nice.”
There are also sporting activities on the program, such as climbing and rafting, which is sailing over white water with a raft or inflatable boat. And Robin is also looking forward to meeting young people from other cultures: “Making good friends, that’s great. I hope to speak to a scout from every continent.”
Robin has already become acquainted with Korean cuisine in preparation: “We ate kimchi. A kind of bami with chicken and all kinds of vegetables and a soup on the side, it was actually quite tasty.” Robin has also learned that the capital Seoul as the capital of plastic surgery. “But I’m not going to do that,” he says with a laugh.