Goodbye Fu Bao: The Departure of Everland’s Lucky Treasure

In a country filled with K-pop icons and movie stars, one of the most famous influencers is not even human. Fu Bao is a giant panda who resided in Everland Resort’s Panda World until March 2023, and is by far one of the most popular mammals on the Korean Peninsula. Her name is derived from the Chinese characters 福宝 (fú băo), meaning Lucky Treasure. While she is loved for her playful demeanor, charming disposition, and adorable appearance, Fu Bao has risen to this level of fame mostly because she is the first giant panda to be born on Korean soil. 

Fu Bao’s parents Ai Bao and Le Bao arrived in South Korea in March 2016 under one of China’s panda diplomacy contracts. By loaning or gifting giant pandas to other countries, China can strengthen diplomatic relations through a sign of friendship and goodwill, while also displaying their commitment to wildlife conservation. During Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to South Korea in 2014, he and then-Korean President Park Geun-hye established the panda rental deal under a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on wildlife and natural conservation—a formal agreement between Korea’s Environment Ministry and China’s Forestry Administration that outlined the cooperation for panda protection. Through this deal, the two Bao parents made their way to Korea in 2016, eventually giving birth to Fu Bao on July 20, 2020.

Fu Bao quickly rose in popularity as Everland visitors and viewers online followed her journey of maturity throughout the years. Everland’s official YouTube channel has garnered over 1 million subscribers through its videos surrounding the Bao family, with adorable clips of Fu Bao playing with toys, eating carrots, fooling around with her parents Ai Bao and Le Bao, and even cuddling with her zookeepers Kang Cheol-won and Song Young-kwan. Everland even continued posting updates about the daily lives of the Bao family during the COVID-19 pandemic, which further fostered the pandas’ online popularity during a harsh period for South Korea.

However, panda diplomacy contracts don’t last forever, and the Baos won’t call Everland Resort their permanent home. The MOU between China and Korea signed in 2014 outlines that mature pandas must be returned to the Chinese mainland before they turn four years old, which is why Fu Bao is required to return to China this year in 2024. In early April, Fu Bao will arrive at her new home at the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda in Chengdu, one of the biggest giant panda conservation and research bases worldwide. Many Korean Fu Bao fans have expressed sadness, disappointment, and even distaste over Fu Bao’s transfer to China, claiming that the panda diplomacy program is just a means for China to exercise its soft and economic power. While many view panda diplomacy as controversial, most panda and Fu Bao fans simply wish for the best of Fu Bao and the giant panda species as a whole. Regardless of the political implications, China’s panda diplomacy program is a great means to achieving panda conservation and helping citizens all over the world meet the wonderful, yet few giant pandas inhabiting the earth.

Fu Bao officially left Everland in early March, with thousands of her fans gathering at the resort to visit her one last time. Zookeeper Kang expressed his almost familial love for Fu Bao at her “farewell bash”, stating how he created unforgettable memories with Fu Bao as her “grandfather”, but at the same time how he was “crying on the inside” about her departure. 

While Fu Bao has already left Everland for the panda research center in Chengdu, she isn’t Ai Bao and Le Bao’s only child. In July 2023, Ai Bao birthed twin giant pandas named Rui Bao and Hui Bao, who will continue to reside in Everland until 2027. The twins took the Internet by storm—giant pandas are only capable of conceiving cubs for 1 to 3 days a year, so birthing two cubs was almost seen as a miracle in South Korea. Check the cubs (and their panda parents) out at Everland’s Panda World or the Everland official YouTube channel (alongside the countless Bao family fan accounts)!

Whether it be Fu Bao, Rui Bao, Hui Bao, Ai Bao, or Le Bao, it is crucial that we give giant pandas our utmost attention and care. Let the Bao family be a beacon of hope for a future of wildlife conservation and environmental sustainability.