'We want Fu Bao back,' Seoulites petition for loan of beloved panda
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A citizen's petition for Seoul to fund a loan from China of the giant panda Fu Bao was posted on the metropolitan government's website on Monday, days after thousands of South Korean fans said their tearful goodbyes to the beloved panda on April 3.
On the Sangsangdaero Seoul website, an online platform for citizens to make suggestions to the Seoul metropolitan government, a person surnamed Kim suggested that Seoul should finance a loan of Fu Bao so that she can be housed at the Seoul Grand Park in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province.
"I ask that (Seoul) pay for the loan of Fu Bao so that Seoul citizens and Chinese tourists (visiting Korea) could see her. (She) is a symbol of the partnership between South Korea and China," the person wrote. Other people can click a "sympathize" button on any suggestion uploaded to the website for a month after it has been posted, and the city is obligated to come up with an official reply if the post has received 50 or more "sympathize" clicks.
As of Wednesday morning, nearly 400 people have "sympathized" with the petition, meaning the city will officially address it. It usually takes about two weeks for the city to reply to a suggestion.
Fu Bao, who will be 4 years old on July 20 this year, is the first panda to be born in South Korea. Previously housed at the Everland theme park in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, she was born to pandas Ai Bao and Le Bao, who were sent to South Korea in 2016 by China on a 15-year loan contract.
China has ownership of all giant pandas, which are endemic to China, including ones that are born outside the country. As such, nearly all existing giant pandas living in facilities outside of China are on loan from China.
Fu Bao has been slated to return to China this year before she reaches maturity at around the age of 4 since South Korea does not have any other unrelated male pandas with whom she can mate.
About 6,000 South Korean fans flocked to Incheon Airport on April 3 to say their goodbyes to Fu Bao, the darling of animal lovers across the country.
By Yoon Min-sik(minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com)
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