Beloved panda in S. Korea may soon see homeland

A special birthday party was held on Thursday at Everland theme park in South Korea for giant panda Fu Bao, who turned 3. It might be her last birthday celebrated in the country, as according to an agreement between China and South Korea, Fu Bao is expected to be sent to China before reaching age 4.

At the birthday party, Fu Bao leisurely approached her birthday cake, adorned with bamboo and flowers and featuring three carrot-shaped birthday candles.

The Chinese Embassy in South Korea presented her two keepers with plaques and commemorative albums, expressing gratitude on behalf of the panda's fans for the dedicated care provided by the Chinese and Korean expert teams.

The keepers have won the hearts of many Chinese netizens. Videos and photos of them interacting with the giant pandas have generated a great deal of fondness for them on social media platforms.

Fu Bao is the first giant panda born through natural breeding in South Korea, and she has become beloved among netizens, not only in South Korea and China, but also around the world.

In March 2016, as China's giant panda "ambassadors", Ai Bao and Le Bao embarked on a journey from Sichuan province to Everland, a two-hour drive from Seoul.

On the evening of July 20, 2020, the panda couple safely welcomed a female cub. Everland conducted a public naming contest for the "little princess," with nearly 50,000 participants, that ultimately yielded the name Fu Bao.

Last September, she was separated from her mother and entered sexual maturity. In accordance with the China-South Korea agreement on panda conservation research cooperation, she is expected to come to China before reaching age 4.

Now that she is sexually maturing and there are no suitable male pandas for breeding in South Korea, sending her to China is seen as the right choice.

South Korean media has referred to the giant panda as a "super idol," and advertisements celebrating her birthday are visible in many subway stations. These birthday wishes were even more special, as the birthdays of all the pandas residing in South Korea fall in July.