Beloved giant panda Fu Bao celebrates 3rd birthday in South Korea

South Korea's Everland Resort on Thursday threw a party for giant panda Fu Bao to celebrate her third birthday.

Three years ago, South Korea welcomed its first natural-born panda and named her Fu Bao, meaning a treasure that brings happiness in Chinese.

Fu Bao's mother Hua Ni (Ai Bao) and father Tian Tian (Le Bao) arrived in South Korea from China in 2016 on a 15-year lease for a research program. They have both been very well looked after during their stay at the Everland Resort. One of the breeders Kang Cherwon, nicknamed Grandpa Kang by Chinese netizens, became popular on Chinese social media platforms through his apparent devotion to the animals.

This is expected to be Fu Bao's last birthday in South Korea as she is scheduled to return to China before July 2024 under the terms of the giant panda research cooperation program.