Local Scout attended World Jamboree, which was evacuated because of heat, typhoon

Edie Schmierbach, The Free Press, Mankato, Minn.
Updated ·2 min read

Aug. 11—Seventeen-year-old Branden Busse of Waseca recently applied the familiar Scout motto "Be Prepared" to a recent life experience.

The Troop 85 member had expected to attend Friday's closing ceremonies for the 25th World Scout Jamboree in Seoul, South Korea. When he planned for the trip, he could not have anticipated weather conditions would turn upside down the schedule for other events during the gathering of 40,000 youths and adults.

"He's making the best of it," said Nicole Busse, describing the unanticipated changes to her son's first trip overseas.

During their phone conversation before his flight home from South Korea, the Waseca teen mentioned to his mom that the guest country was treating Scouts to a K-pop concert at World Cup Stadium.

Friday's show was quickly put together by government officials as Korea began to clean up and make repairs in the aftermath of Typhoon Khanun. The storm pounded the country's southern and eastern regions with intense rains and winds that forced thousands to evacuate and left at least one person dead after making landfall Thursday.

Branden arrived at the 12-day Scout gathering around Aug. 1, excited about making connections with troop members. However, to ensure his safety during an unprecedented heat wave as well as the typhoon, he was sent to a U.S. Army garrison. Most of his trip was spent at Camp Humphreys, an hour away from the Jamboree action.

"He was disappointed that he didn't get to meet many people from other countries," Nicole said.

She said before the Seoul event, he had attended the national Jamboree. Branden was one of more than 13,500 Scouts and scoutmasters from across the country who set up their tents during the late-July event in West Virginia.

Nicole plans to pick up Branden from the Minneapolis airport, where his plane is scheduled to arrive late Saturday night.

"He's got a long layover in California," she said.

Catastrophic weather events and having to wait in an airport more than a thousand miles from home likely won't change Branden's enthusiasm for Scouting.

"He's been a Scout since he was in kindergarten," Nicole said.