Next time I meet Fubao, I hope that Fubao has adapted well to the new place and likes it so much that he doesn’t even recognize the installment plan. I may feel sad for a moment, but wouldn’t I be able to let go of my feelings about Fubao a little?
‘I am a happy Fubao installment’ text
In October 2020, when ‘Fubao’ was 4 months old. Zookeeper Kang Cheol-won, known as ‘Fubao Installment’, is seen holding Fu Bao in the inner room of Panda World at Everland in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province. / Provided by zookeeper Kang Cheol-won.
‘Fubao’, the giant panda at Everland in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, which is about to be returned to China, will be released to the public only until the 3rd. Visitors are flocking to Everland to see Fubao for the last time. Bus number 5002 from Gangnam Station in Seoul to Everland is full from the first train in the morning. Everland opens at 10 a.m., but the waiting line starts at 7 a.m. It is said that the waiting time at Panda World in Fubao, which is about to meet the last person in Korea, will take 6 hours.
Thanks to their unique cute appearance, pandas have a charm that attracts human attention, but their popularity exploded due to the way they interact with their keepers in a human-like manner. A video of Fu Bao, who was 5 months old when she was just waddling and walking, grabbed the zookeeper’s boot and begged to play with it became a hot topic. She even shows cuteness to the zookeeper by crossing her arms as if she were a human. When Zookeeper Kang is worried about her life ahead of her, he pats her on the shoulder as if to comfort her and say, ‘I’m okay.’
A scene from the ‘arm-fold date’ video between zookeeper Kang Cheol-won and Fu Bao. /Everland YouTube
The main character who shows a bond that transcends species and is difficult to explain in words is zookeeper Kang Cheol-won (55). He is a veteran zookeeper who has worked with over 80 species of animals for 37 years. Among them, the one I have the deepest connection with is the giant panda. In 2016, he met Le Bao and Ai Bao from China and was called the ‘father’ of pandas. In 2020, he became a ‘grandfather’ with the birth of Fu Bao through Korea’s first natural pregnancy. It is also nicknamed ‘installment paper’. The way he spends time with the pandas makes them feel like family, so he was given the nickname ‘Kang Bao’, meaning a member of the Bao family.
It is said that during the 37 years he worked as a zookeeper, he never missed a day of recording animals. Some of these records contain memories with Fu Bao.I am a happy fubao installment‘ was published on the 28th of last month. “There is no separation.” The sentence read, “Because we are an eternal family.” As of the last week of February, it ranked 4th overall on Kyobo Bookstore’s bestseller list.
From the story of Korea’s first giant pandas ‘Mingming’ and ‘Lili’, to the moment they met ‘Ai Bao’ and ‘Le Bao’ in 2016, to the moment before they parted ways with Fu Bao, the story was included. It also contains his thoughts on being a zookeeper as a professional. The bookshelf went over quickly.
Everland zookeeper Kang Cheol-won is talking about his book about the story of panda Fubao while holding a panda doll tightly at the construction company in Seongdong-gu, Seoul on the morning of February 29, 2024. / Reporter Oh Jong-chan
On the 29th of last month, I met with breeder Kang Cheol-won at a construction company in Seongdong-gu, Seoul. It was quite unfamiliar to see him in civilian clothes rather than a zookeeper’s outfit of a green shirt, brown pants, and rubber boots. When he saw the panda doll placed in one corner of the interview room, his expression brightened. He was the ultimate ‘panda grandfather’. Mr. Kang smiled and said, “I feel very reassured because I have Fu Bao next to me.”
◇“Animals that cannot speak, observation becomes narrative”
-It’s amazing that you’ve recorded every day for 37 years.
“Unlike pets, we cannot see wild animals up close, so the most important thing is observation. How well you observe and record the facts is the best foundation for understanding animals. It can also be a useful resource when a problem arises. It will also be a great help in understanding the animal the next time someone else takes care of the animal. “As records about individual animals accumulate, stories and narratives also accumulate.”
-Some of the 37 years of records have been published as a book.
“I have had a desire to publish a book in my own way for a long time. Since I worked as a zookeeper at a zoo, when I wanted to study about wild animals, there were no good ways to do so. I wanted to write a book that would be easily accessible and familiar to people who want to study wild animals.
Also, after spending a long time with animals, I learned a lot from them. I also feel that there are many parts of human history, animal history, and the principles of nature that are not very different. “I also wanted to include what I learned from animals in the book.”
I am a happy fubao installment
-The experience of meeting Jane Goodall, a world-renowned zoologist, was also mentioned.
“In the early 2000s, when I was in charge of apes, I met Jane Goodall, who was visiting Korea, at Everland Zoo. She learned from Jane Goodall’s ‘Animal Care Chart’ that she had to keep records of her animals in this way. It was also really amazing that Jane Goodall said, ‘I’m going to call the animals using the chimpanzee’s natural dialect’ (laughter).”
-Is there a reason why you chose the title of the book, ‘I am a happy fubao installment’?
“I once asked my friends who work with me. Is this a story about me being happy or Fubao being happy? Most of my friends answered this way. ‘Fubao is happy, but it can be read as meaning that the zookeeper is happy as well.’ Fubao made me happy when he was born, and I also felt like I put a lot of effort into making Fubao happy, so I thought it would be good to have a name that makes both people happy, so I chose it as the title of the book.”
Everland zookeeper Kang Cheol-won is talking about his book about the story of panda Fubao while holding a panda doll tightly at the construction company in Seongdong-gu, Seoul on the morning of February 29, 2024. / Reporter Oh Jong-chan
◇Human zookeeper with 46 different jobs
Among zookeepers, it is said that a zookeeper is a person with 46 different jobs. This is because they have to do various jobs such as cooking for animals, repairing and repairing the radiation field, growing bamboo, and landscaping. Mr. Kang said, “Some people dream of becoming zookeepers because they are fascinated by the moments of interacting and being with cute animals, but it is a job that requires persistence, sacrifice, and investment of time for the animals more than you thought.”
-What would you like to say to people who dream of becoming zookeepers?
“I hope your dream comes true. Hurry up and join my junior, I will be waiting for you (laughter). Many people dream of becoming zookeepers after seeing zookeeper experience programs on TV and thinking that the animals are cute and pretty. However, since he has 46 different jobs, he has to do so many different things that he can even be called a zookeeper.
There are many moments when I interact with animals. However, there are so many things that have to be done until that moment, and the waiting time is also very long. Because you have to do all the cleaning work related to the animals. To do that, we need to be patient and sacrifice for animals longer than we think. “It takes persistence to be around animals and thinking specifically about what you want to do for them.”
-The importance of observation was emphasized several times in the book.
“Unlike pets, wild animals are not easy to come into contact with and direct contact is difficult. As a result, there are many situations where we cannot see the situation of these friends. In particular, wild animals instinctively hide that they are sick. Since such a situation is directly connected to an attack by natural enemies in the wild, it can be recognized only after the disease or symptoms become serious. “It is important for zookeepers to quickly detect subtle changes.”
Fubao./Everland
◇Art created in white and black
If you draw with only two colors, white and black,
Could it be this beautiful?
Black arms, black shoulders, black legs,
White back and white belly, black nose and pitch black eyes,
What color was the tail?
‘I am a happy Fubao installment’ text
-I have taken care of about 80 different animals. Among them, what is the charm of pandas?
“The more you know, the more fascinating it becomes. It’s black and white in color, but it’s an animal that can be cute just in black and white. Panda is a wild animal from the bear family of the order Carnivora. It is amazing that they have the body structure of a wild beast and only eat bamboo, but they also have the characteristic of making it difficult to distinguish between pregnancy and pseudopregnancy. It’s amazing that even though he weighs over 100kg, he can climb trees with ease.
Pandas are often thought to have black tails because all protruding parts are black, but the tail is white. When explaining pandas, people often ask questions like what color is the panda’s tail? “I used to joke that pandas with black tails were fakes (laughter).”
-You said there are things to learn from animals too.
“There is a saying, ‘A person is worse than an animal,’ and after observing animals for a long time, it seems that both animal and human life move together within the principles of nature. “We learn human affairs from animals.”
-You have a special affection for your mother ‘Ai Bao’. Is there anything you learn from her?
“At first glance, it looks like Fu Bao is doing things on his own, such as learning to walk or climbing a tree. He tries to stand up on his front foot by himself, then waddles around and starts to put up his back foot little by little, and then leans on the wall and makes all these efforts on his own. At first glance, you might think it’s because pandas don’t have maternal love. However, if you look closely, Aibao continues to watch Fubao indifferently as he climbs and falls from the tree, and even as he eats indifferently, as if to say, ‘I’m worried, be careful.’ They stare at me as if to say, ‘You have to go through this on your own,’ but I tell them to do it on their own. Even though Aibao is worried about the situation, she gives him the confidence to do it on his own. She gives herself a chance to do it and waits. “I can be impatient, but I learn from giving her trust and waiting.”
Everland twin baby pandas. First child Ruibao (left), second child Huibao./Everland
-Is there any difference in raising twin panda sisters compared to Fubao?
“Fubao grew up alone, and the twins grew up together, so they get along really well with each other. They joke around with each other, so it feels like competition rather than competition, and they play so intensely and roughly. In the case of Fubao, I played with Jalbuji a lot, and we hugged him or hugged him affectionately, but the two of us bickered and got along well.”
-Aren’t you sad to see the zookeeper’s two college-aged daughters loving Fu Bao?
“My daughters were competing to post their childhood photos on their KakaoTalk profiles (laughter). In the end, we ended up bickering and ended up sharing the same photo together, but it’s fun to have that kind of competition(?) over my dad. My daughters sometimes ask with a jealous voice, ‘Fubao comes first, we come first.’ I responded, ‘You guys go first,’ and she even reprimanded me for hesitating for a moment (laughs).”
‘Grandpa Panda’ zookeeper Kang Cheol-won is greeting Fu Bao at Panda World in Everland, Yongin-si, Gyeonggi-do. The giant panda Fubao, which has gained great popularity, will be released to the general public only until March 3, ahead of its repatriation to China in early April. /News 1
◇Decided to break up with Fubao
Mr. Kang is currently busy preparing to send Fubao to China. She says that when she goes to China, she communicates with Fu Bao by mixing Chinese so that he is not embarrassed by the unfamiliar language. “Actually, I’m more worried about the fans who have liked Panda for a long time, as we co-parent with them, than about me,” Kang said. “I’m staying cheerful because I’m afraid that if I show that I’m sad, they’ll be even sadder.”
-It was written in the book that ‘keepers break up to hide their affection.’
“Animals have a shorter lifespan than people, and sometimes they move their residence or go to another zoo. There were a lot of things to say goodbye to. Breaking up is unavoidable, and there is a moment of separation when we meet anyone, but the difference is the period and timing. I wish I would have done this, I should have done better when I had it… I even regretted it after letting go.
“As the breakup time approaches, I feel like I can’t manage my heart, but I think you won’t have any regrets if you prepare well for the breakup, support them, prepare well, and do your best while you’re at it.”
-Fu Bao is going to study abroad soon.
“I have to send money for studying abroad (laughter)… Among Fu Bao’s nicknames, I originally liked the nickname ‘Princess Fu’ the most. My favorite nickname these days is ‘Yongin Pussy.’ I don’t want you to forget that wherever you are, your hometown is Everland. Still, I hope you stay happy enough to not even think about your hometown, Everland. “I hope you think just a little bit about the installment plan we spent together when we were young.”
Fu Bao and Kang Cheol-won, the zookeeper. /Everland
He said, “I try not to think about breaking up as much as possible at this point, but when I was writing a letter conveying information about Fubao to the zookeeper who would be in charge of Fubao in China, to be honest, I was overcome with emotion without realizing it.”
Mr. Kang wrote in the letter, “Our Fubao likes fallen leaves in the fall, and rolling and playing in the snow in the winter,” and “I also really like smelling the scent of rape flowers.” He said, “Fubao, I hope you live so happily there that you don’t even have to think about paying installments.”
‘Grandpa Fubao’ zookeeper Kang Cheol-won said that there are things that people can learn from pandas, and that it is not that pandas do not have maternal love, but that they have faith in their children who wait for the cubs to do things on their own. / Reporter Oh Jong-chan
2024-03-02 21:40:09
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