'Crying on the inside,' Fu Bao's 'grandpa' reminisces about raising the panda family

Kang Cheol-won, the zookeeper at Everland in Gyeonggi, reminisces about raising the panda family, including Fu Bao and her twin sisters. As Fu Bao prepares to leave for China, Kang shares his emotional journey and deep bond with the pandas.

Kang Cheol-won [CHOI KI-WOONG]

Everland's Korean-born giant panda Fu Bao [YONHAP]

Kang Cheol-won is a 55-year-old zookeeper at Everland in Gyeonggi who is affectionately referred to as the grandfather of the theme park’s giant panda celebrity Fu Bao and her younger twin sisters, Rui Bao and Hui Bao.

On Tuesday, Everland announced that Fu Bao will leave Korea in early April, before she turns four, and be relocated to China for endangered wildlife preservation reasons. Fu Bao turns four on July 20. While her domestic fans are sad to see Fu Bao go, Kang said he is “trying hard to put a smile on his face while crying on the inside.”

“If I show tears, wouldn’t fans become even more sad to see her go?” Kang told the Korea JoongAng Daily on Tuesday.

Kang joined Everland as a zookeeper in 1988. At one point back in the '90s, Everland had two panda couples, and it was Kang who looked after them as well. But after staying for about four years, they had to be sent back to China during the Asian Financial Crisis.

He has also looked after Fu Bao's parents — father Le Bao and mother Ai Bao — since they came to Korea from China in 2016.

In July 20, 2020, Kang was by Ai Bao’s side when she gave birth to Fu Bao. It was Kang’s wife who had taemong, the Korean term for a pregnancy or conception dream that is said to foretell the birth of a child, not long after Ai Bao got pregnant.

Kang's new book "Fu Bao, always love you" will become available from Thursday [SCREEN CAPTURE]

“[The dream] was even before we at the zoo found out that Ai Bao was pregnant,” Kang said.

Kang published a baby book last year to mark Fu Bao's third birthday. On Thursday, his third book, “Fu Bao, always love you,” which looks back over Fu Bao’s life in Korea, will be published. The essay photo book has been sitting at No. 1 on the list of top selling pre-orders since Jan. 11, according to Yes24.

When the Korea JoongAng Daily met with Kang Tuesday evening, Kang showed off the background image of his smartwatch, which was a picture of Fu Bao, and his phone's lock screen, which was Rui Bao.

“I have Rui Bao’s picture here on my cell phone and Fu Bao’s on my watch, and I change them around so other pandas don’t get upset. Oh, my wife is going to be mad when she realizes it’s not her pictures,” Kang said with a chuckle.

Kang shows a picture of Lui Bao as his phone's lock screen background on Tuesday. [YIM SEUNG-HYE]

Kang has a picture of Fu Bao on his smartwatch. [YIM SEUNG-HYE]

Kang said he has so many memories with Fu Bao that he can’t pick just one favorite. But he said he does want to make one thing straight.

“There had been news reports that Fu Bao tried to escape, and some people voiced concerns that she wanted to escape because she was feeling stifled inside her enclosure. But what really happened was that we covered the bamboo trees outside her enclosure with straw the night before, as the weather was getting cold, and giant pandas are very curious and playful. So the next morning, when she saw there was something new on the trees, she just jumped over to check them out,” Kang said. “I don’t think we can call that an attempted escape. She just wanted to play.”

When Fu Bao crossed the wires surrounding the outdoor enclosure, other caretakers tried to lure her back into the enclosure with carrots, but to no avail. Then Kang was called in, and the situation was resolved instantly. What was his secret?

“I just called her name and she came to me,” Kang said.

“Giant pandas have great hearing, and if they form a close relationship with a keeper, they’ll come to you when you call their name. So a lot of Fu Bao’s fans try to mimic my voice and my intonation, but it doesn’t work on Fu Bao,” Kang laughed.

Fu Bao’s twin sisters will eventually have to return to China before they turn four as well. But Kang said he’ll always be the giant pandas' grandad.

“When I went to China and the panda that I used to look after in Korea recognized me after 18 years, the Chinese people there told me that I was indeed ‘panda’s father,’” Kang said. “Since then, people started calling me panda’s father, and when Ai Bao had several failed attempts to get pregnant, I said to people that my only wish was to become giant panda’s grandfather. Now I am, and I’ll forever be their grandfather, no matter where they are.”

Fu Bao enjoys the snow on Dec. 20, 2023, in Everland, Gyeonggi. [YONHAP]

Kang will be traveling with Fu Bao to China in April but will not be staying with her during her one-month quarantine.

“But I want to assure her fans that Fu Bao will adjust to the new environment in two to three days,” Kang said. “My greatest fear right now is that she doesn’t recognize me the next time I see her.”

BY YIM SEUNG-HYE [yim.seunghye@joongang.co.kr]