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'Cuter in real life': South Korea names its twin panda 'treasures'

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Agence France-Presse

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt=" Panda cubs Rui Bao (L) and Hui Bao (R), who were born 97 days ago in South Korea, are seen during a ceremony to reveal their names at Everland Amusement and Animal Park in Yongin on Oct. 12, 2023. Jung Yeon-je, AFP " src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2023/afp/10/12/panda-afp-10122023.jpg"/><figcaption>Panda cubs Rui Bao (L) and Hui Bao (R), who were born 97 days ago in South Korea, are seen during a ceremony to reveal their names at Everland Amusement and Animal Park in Yongin on Oct. 12, 2023. <em>Jung Yeon-je, AFP </em></figcaption></figure></div><p><br/>YONGIN, South Korea — South Korea got its first up-close look at its new pair of baby giant pandas Thursday at a name-revealing ceremony that doubled as an early celebration of the 100 days since their birth.</p><p>The female cubs -- named Rui Bao, or &quot;wise treasure&quot;, and Hui Bao, &quot;shining treasure&quot; -- were born at the Everland theme park near the capital Seoul on July 7, and have since been showered with an outpouring of excitement and affection.</p><p>Some half a million panda lovers helped choose their names via online voting, the zoo said, with a handful of lucky fans invited to Thursday&#x27;s ceremony.</p><p>Lee Da-young, a 20-year-old university student in attendance, said it was her third visit to the zoo in two months to see the pandas.</p><p>&quot;I&#x27;ve always liked pandas, so I came to Everland last week and also a month ago,&quot; Lee told AFP. &quot;But I&#x27;m honored to have come again on such a great opportunity.</p><p>&quot;They are even cuter in real life than they appear on screen,&quot; she said.</p><p>Since their birth 97 days ago, the zoo has posted videos documenting the pandas&#x27; growth on its YouTube channel that have garnered millions of views.</p><p>&quot;I feel healed whenever I watch their videos,&quot; said 31-year-old office worker Jung Hyun-ye, who regularly watches the twice-weekly clips.</p><p>&quot;I think I&#x27;m healed by their harmless expressions and relaxed manner,&quot; she added.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/oEam-8tRDZM?enablejsapi=1" width="560"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div><p>The cubs, which have just begun teething and crawling, are very healthy, zookeeper Kang Chul-won told reporters.</p><p>&quot;We&#x27;ve never raised twins before, so we were very nervous, but I was happy seeing them grow up and I think the people watching them via social media were also happy,&quot; he said.</p><p>They will likely be revealed to the public early next year, the zoo said in a statement.</p><p>Ai Bao and Le Bao, the twins&#x27; parents, arrived in South Korea in 2016 as a state gift from Chinese President Xi Jinping.</p><p>In July 2020, the pair gave birth to a daughter, Fu Bao, the first giant panda born in South Korea via natural breeding.</p><p>China has long deployed &quot;panda diplomacy&quot;, gifting the animals to various countries, often to further its foreign policy aims.</p><p>Beijing only loans pandas to foreign zoos, which must usually return any offspring within a few years of their birth to join the country&#x27;s breeding program.</p><div><strong>© Agence France-Presse</strong></div>

Some half a million panda lovers helped choose their names via online voting, the zoo said.