Panda couple becomes honorary ambassadors

Le Bao, a male panda, eats bamboo at Everland in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, Thursday. Le Bao and his partner Ai Bao were named honorary ambassadors of Yongin. / Yonhap

By Kim Rahn

A panda couple will promote the city of Yongin, Gyeonggi Province.

This is Korea’s first time appointing animals as honorary ambassadors, a role previously filled by entertainers and sports stars.

The city government said Thursday that the panda couple, moved from China’s Sichuan Province to Everland Resort in Yongin, will promote tourism to the city.

The couple ― male Le Bao and female Ai Bao ― came to Korea following an agreement during a 2014 summit between Korea and China.

“Some 8 million people visit Everland every year, and we expect the new animals in the theme park will draw more tourists both from Korea and abroad,” a city official said.

The city did not set a period for their ambassadorial term, so they are likely to hold the role for the next 15 years of their stay at Everland according to the agreement.

“Le Bao and Ai Bao will get special meals instead of the usual bamboo as incentives if the number of visitors grows,” the official said.

The pandas, a present from Chinese President Xi Jinping, arrived in Korea on March 3 for the purpose of a joint study. They are the first pandas in Korea in 22 years since another couple returned to China in 1994.

“They have been acclimating to their new environment well,” said the official. “To prevent them from becoming stressed from the sudden surge of crowds, we will increase the number of visitors to the panda viewing area gradually until the official public opening on April 21.”

In Japan, Kishi Station in Wakayama Prefecture appointed a cat as its station master, and Kumamoto Prefecture named three sheep as public servants in charge of weeding.