Panda diplomacy heats up as Gwangju zoo emerges as potential new home

Pandas are seen at Everland amusement park in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, Oct. 23, 2025. Courtesy of Samsung C&T

A zoo in the southwestern city of Gwangju has become a focal point of panda diplomacy between South Korea and China, emerging as a possible new home for the animals after a summit between the two countries’ leaders, with supporters pointing to its track record on animal welfare, trained staff and appropriate facilities.

On Wednesday, President Lee Jae Myung said he requested Chinese President Xi Jinping to loan a pair of pandas to Uchi Park Zoo, noting its status as one of the nation’s two designated hub zoos and agreeing to move forward with working-level discussions.

The Ministry of Environment grants hub zoo designation based on criteria for animal welfare and conservation, including a minimum site area of 10,000 square meters, an animal hospital and at least three veterinarians.

Founded in 1992, Uchi Park Zoo became South Korea’s second designated hub zoo last year, following Cheongju Zoo in North Chungcheong Province. It is widely recognized for its expertise in animal protection and veterinary care, having pioneered a titanium artificial beak for a parrot and successfully operated on a ring-tailed lemur to repair a fractured arm.

The zoo has also taken in bears rescued from bile extraction — a practice tied to traditional medicine — and is caring for an endangered red-tailed boa confiscated from smugglers.

A visitor looks at alpacas at Uchi Park Zoo in Gwangju, Jan. 7. Yonhap

The zoo is home to 667 animals representing 89 species, including 43 endangered species and seven designated natural monuments. Its collection also includes two Pungsan dogs gifted to former President Moon Jae-in by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in 2018 following an inter-Korean summit.

Although facilities for pandas are not yet in place, officials said the zoo has the experience and expertise to care for them once proper enclosures are constructed.

But the reactions have not all been positive.

An animal rights group called for a halt to the panda loan talks, arguing that these arrangements amount to the commercial exploitation of animals.

"Pandas are endangered wild animals, not meant for entertainment or diplomacy, yet China has long used them as a diplomatic tool,” the nonprofit organization Korea Animal Rights Advocates said Monday, criticizing the Korean government for accepting the practice without proper deliberation.

The group added that panda loans and exhibitions do little to protect wild habitats or boost population recovery, instead reinforcing the commercial use of animals, which only benefits host zoos and related industries.

Sending pandas — a species native only to the wilds of China — has long been a tool of Chinese diplomacy. One notable instance occurred after U.S. President Richard Nixon’s 1972 visit to China, when Beijing gifted a pair of pandas to the United States as a symbol of goodwill.

South Korea received its first panda from China in 1994 to mark the second anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two countries.

Korea now has four pandas, all at Everland, an amusement park in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, just south of Seoul. Pandas are typically loaned abroad for about a decade, and any cubs born overseas must be returned to China at maturity, usually around age 4.