Everland Gang Cheol-won Panda Keeper Story
"Being a Keeper Is an Attractive Profession" Pride
Gang Cheol-won (54), the Everland Giant Panda keeper known as "Gangbao," a nickname meaning "Grandpa Fubao," shared a story about a time he was hurt by visitors in the past.
On the 18th, a video titled "Panda World Gangbao & Songbao, What Do You Do After Work?" was uploaded to the Everland YouTube channel. The video featured keepers Gang Cheol-won and Song Young-gwan (44), providing insight into their personal stories.
Keeper Kang said, "When I first became a keeper in 1988, being a keeper was one of the jobs people didn't really think about. Something like that happened back then." He continued, "While I was working, a visitor passed by and told his son, 'If you don't study and don't listen to your mom, you'll end up like that man.' Nowadays, the perception of the keeper profession has changed, and there are even many people who want to become keepers. I think we have played a small part in that." [Photo by Everland YouTube channel]
The two keepers are affectionately called "Big Grandpa" and "Little Grandpa" at Everland Panda World. Their careers span 36 and 20 years respectively. Among them, Big Grandpa Gang shared how he has noticed the public’s perception of his profession changing significantly, and recounted an incident he experienced in the past.
Gang said, "When I first became a keeper in 1988, it was a job that people didn’t really think about much. At that time, something like this happened," he began.
He continued, "While I was working, a visitor passed by and told his son, 'If you don’t study and don’t listen to your mom, you’ll end up like that man.' Nowadays, the perception of being a keeper has changed, and many people actually want to become one. I think we played a small part in that shift."
He expressed pride, saying, "I think being a keeper is a very attractive profession."
Gang also emphasized that the role of keepers has been evolving recently. He said, "In the past, the main purpose of zoos was conservation, protection, and breeding. Now, I think a keeper’s role is also to raise their animals healthily and help them shine."
He stressed the importance of paying close attention and communicating with the animals.
"Even within families at home, communication isn’t always smooth. How much more difficult must it be with wild animals?" he said. "You have to observe a lot and try to understand them, and then you can gradually see what the animals want."
Surprised by Stories of 'Healing' Through Fubao
On this day, the zookeeper Kang also expressed surprise at the stories from visitors who said they overcame depression, insomnia, and panic disorder through Poobao. [Photo by Everland YouTube channel]
On that day, Gang did not forget to praise Fubao. He was surprised to hear visitors say they overcame depression, insomnia, and panic disorder through Fubao.
Gang said, "I really thought this friend is amazing. From the moment he was born, he made me happy and brought happiness to the Panda World family." He added, "During the COVID-19 period, he gave strength to many parts of a struggling society and brightened things up. Many people said they found energy and happiness because of him," showing his affection for Fubao.
Netizens who watched the video responded with various comments such as "I will always support Keeper Gang" and "He is now an indispensable figure at Everland."
Meanwhile, the video received 430,000 views and over 1,500 supportive comments within just one day of its release.
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