In a Yongin park south of Seoul, a small panda named Shubao, born in June, has become the quiet center of a gathering that is really about goodbye. Since late October tens of thousands of visitors have come to watch her grow, while many more have come to see the twins who raised her to this point and will soon be sent away, as international conservation rules require. It is the way people have always marked a passage they cannot stop: by showing up, watching closely, and making something of the time left.
Everland's Newest Panda Shubao Draws 50,000 Visitors in 10 Days as Twins Prepare to Leave
The last day all five pandas will be together
Mark
Fifty thousand visitors in ten days for a cub who was only on view an hour a day at first. Why does that matter?
Mimi
It shows how much attention the park is managing. Shubao went from one hour to three or four hours as she adjusted, and the crowds came anyway.
Mark
And the twins are part of the same story.
Mimi
Yes. Ruibao and Huibao must go to China before they turn 4, under conservation rules. About 100,000 people have visited them since the departure was announced.
Luke
Those are the operator's figures, though. Nothing in the reporting says how they were counted, or how many visitors came specifically for Shubao rather than the twins.
Mark
Fair. What else is concrete?
Mimi
The dates. Quarantine starts Friday, limited viewing runs to Dec. 11, and that is the last day all five pandas are together.
Luke
Worth noting the departure is only given as the third week of December. No exact day is reported.
Mark
What about the merchandise and books?
Mimi
Graduation gowns and caps go on sale Nov. 20, and two photo books hit bestseller lists on the first day of preorders. Fubao left in 2024, so the park knows how this goodbye goes.
Luke
That last part is an inference. The source only says Fubao moved in April 2024, not how Everland handled it.
O Pulso
- Fifty thousand visitors have pressed into Panda World at Everland in roughly ten days, and the crowds show no sign of thinning.
- Shubao's public viewing has stretched from one hour a day to three or four as the park races to keep pace with demand.
- Twins Ruibao and Huibao face a firm deadline: quarantine begins Friday and their move to China follows in late December.
- Zookeepers, a beloved caretaker known as Panda Grandpa, and a photo book bestseller are all being mobilized to give fans a proper farewell.
- December 11 becomes the last day all five pandas will share one park, and every event on the calendar now points toward it.
In a Yongin park south of Seoul, a small panda named Shubao, born in June, has become the quiet center of a gathering that is really about goodbye. Since late October tens of thousands of visitors have come to watch her grow, while many more have come to see the twins who raised her to this point and will soon be sent away, as international conservation rules require. It is the way people have always marked a passage they cannot stop: by showing up, watching closely, and making something of the time left.
Since October 30, about 50,000 people have come through Panda World at Everland in Yongin to meet Shubao, the park's newest giant panda. Born on June 3 to Aibao and Lebao, she is the fourth panda born in Korea. The park introduced her slowly, first showing her for about an hour a day, and has since extended that to three or four hours as she grows comfortable with visitors.
Much of the attention, though, belongs to her older siblings. Ruibao and Huibao must leave for China before they turn 4, when international conservation rules require giant pandas born abroad to relocate. Since the departure was announced about a month ago, roughly 100,000 people have visited their enclosure. The twins enter quarantine on Friday but remain on limited view until December 11, the last day all five pandas will be together at the park.
Everland has built a series of farewell events around that date: a zookeepers' talk concert, a large LED screen showing footage of the family, and graduation-themed merchandise going on sale November 20. Two photo essay books about the twins have already climbed the bestseller lists. For now, the park is counting down the days, and visitors are making the most of the time they have left.
Since Oct. 30, about 50,000 people have filed into Panda World at Everland in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, to see the park's newest resident: Shubao, a giant panda cub born June 3. The park's operator announced the figure on Tuesday, roughly ten days after she first appeared before the public.
Samsung C&T's resort division, which runs Everland, introduced her slowly. In her first week she was on view about an hour a day. As she has grown used to the visitors, the park has stretched that to three or four hours.
Shubao's parents are Aibao and Lebao. She is the fourth giant panda born in Korea. The first was Fubao, born in 2020, who moved to China in April 2024. The twins Ruibao and Huibao followed in 2023.
Those twins are the other reason for the crowds. Under international conservation rules, giant pandas born outside China must relocate there before they turn 4, the age at which they reach breeding age. Ruibao and Huibao will leave for China in the third week of December. Since Everland announced the departure about a month ago, roughly 100,000 people have visited their enclosure.
The twins begin a month of quarantine on Friday, but they will stay on limited public view until Dec. 11. That day is the last on which all five pandas will be together at the park.
Everland has lined up a run of farewell events. On Wednesday and Thursday, zookeepers will hold a talk concert and share stories about raising the twins. Among them is Kang Cheol-won, known to fans as "Panda Grandpa." Through Wednesday, a large LED screen in the park's Four Seasons Garden is showing footage of the panda family.
Graduation-themed merchandise for the twins, including albums, gowns and caps, goes on sale Nov. 20, along with special food and drinks. A nationwide travel project themed around the twins has run since June, with fans collecting stamps. Those who finish can trade them for certificates and medals.
Two photo essay books about the twins, one by an Everland zookeeper and one by the park's photographer, opened for preorder Nov. 3. Both reached the bestseller lists at major Korean online bookstores that same day.
What comes next is a short calendar: quarantine starting Friday, the final five-panda day on Dec. 11, and the twins' departure for China later that month.
Citações Notáveis
Giant pandas born outside China must move there before they turn 4, when they reach breeding age.— International conservation rules, as described by The Korea Times
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Leia o original em The Korea Times ↗
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