“The postponed Jamboree K-pop concert will be held at Jeonju World Cup Stadium on the 11th,” said Jeonbuk Hyundai, which hastily rescheduled its upcoming home two-game series on the 6th due to the Saemangeum Jamboree fire. However, the venue is likely to be changed to Seoul’s Sangam World Cup Stadium within a day. Clubs and soccer fans are left to deal with the confusion caused by the rushed administration of the Saemangeum World Scouting Jamboree.
Initially, Jeonbuk was scheduled to play the FA Cup quarterfinal first leg against Incheon United at home on the 9th, followed by a K League 1 match against Suwon Samsung on the 12th.
However, on June 6, the schedule was abruptly changed. Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Park Bo-gyun and Jeonbuk Province Governor Kim Kwan-young held a press conference at the Jamboree Press Center on the 6th and announced, “The postponed Jamboree K-pop performance will be held at Jeonju World Cup Stadium on the 11th.” The concert was scheduled to be held at 8 p.m. that day at the Saemangeum Outdoor Special Stage, but was postponed due to heat waves and safety concerns.
“The capacity of Jeonju World Cup Stadium is 42,000 people, and 88% of the seats are covered,” Park said, explaining the reason for the change in schedule and venue, adding that the travel time from Saemangeum is about 50 minutes. “The Jeonbuk Hyundai Football Club was scheduled to play a home game around the K-pop concert, but we are grateful that they decided to move it to another stadium,” Kim said, adding, “We will mobilize all our resources to make the finale of the last K-pop concert a success.”
According to Jeonbuk officials, the club was informed at 2 p.m. on June 6. Jeonbuk quickly reached out to the Korean Football League (K League) and the Korea Football Association (FA Cup) to reschedule and change the venue.
“The performance event and closing ceremony of the 2023 Saemangeum World Scouting Jamboree will be held at Jeonju World Cup Stadium on the 11th of this month,” Jeonbuk said on the club’s social media, “Therefore, the two home games scheduled for next week will be rescheduled. We apologize to our fans for any confusion caused by this sudden rescheduling. We will inform you as soon as the details of the games are finalized.”
Jeonbuk also announced that it will provide a full refund to ticket holders for the Incheon game and will announce the rescheduled date for the Suwon game at a later date. Not only did the fans suddenly lose their home stadium, but they were also facing financial losses.
But the chaos didn’t end there. The Jamboree organizers are considering moving the K-pop concert on the 11th from Jeonju World Cup Stadium to Sangam World Cup Stadium in Seoul in preparation for Typhoon Kanun’s landfall on the 7th.
Incheon, which was scheduled to play Jeonbuk in Jeonju on the 6th and continue to the FA Cup on the 9th, has already returned to Incheon after hearing the news of the venue change on the 6th. It is reported that the Incheon club will bear all the penalties for cancellation such as accommodation due to the sudden return. Under these circumstances, Jeonju’s home stadium will be empty again on the 11th.
Jeonbuk and Incheon can’t help but be confused.
An official from Jeonbuk said, “We haven’t decided whether to reschedule the game at home. We are preparing for the home game, but Incheon has already returned,” said a Jeonbuk official. “If the Korea Football Association (which organizes the FA Cup) gives us an official position, we will move accordingly.” 스포츠토토