Hong Jun-pyo, who told not to obsess over Fubao, asks Chinese ambassador to "send a pair of pandas"

Sing Haiming, Chinese Ambassador, Officially Requests a Pair of Pandas
Ambassador Sing Expresses Willingness for Active Cooperation

Daegu Mayor Hong Jun-pyo, who met with Xing Haiming, the Chinese Ambassador to Korea, officially requested to send a pair of pandas to Daegu Grand Park, scheduled for completion in 2027.

On the 31st, Yonhap News reported, "Mayor Hong Jun-pyo made this request during a meeting with Ambassador Xing, who visited Daegu for the first time since his inauguration." In response, Ambassador Xing reportedly expressed his intention to actively cooperate after consulting with the central government.

Mayor Hong also stated at the groundbreaking ceremony for Daegu Grand Park held on the west side of Daegu Art Museum in Samdeok-dong, Suseong-gu, on the 8th, "We will work closely with China to ensure that Daegu Grand Park becomes a place where citizens can rest comfortably and enjoyably, where zoo animals live healthily, and where pandas, which attract much public interest, can be brought in." Daegu City is currently constructing Daegu Grand Park in Samdeok-dong, Suseong-gu, with a target completion year of 2027.

Hong Joon-pyo, Mayor of Daegu. [Photo by Yonhap News]

Earlier, Mayor Hong visited Chengdu City, Sichuan Province, China, from the 24th to the 29th of last month for a 5-night, 6-day trip. Chengdu signed a sister city agreement with Daegu in 2015 and is home to the giant panda 'Fubao,' who returned to China. On the 28th of last month, Mayor Hong posted on his Facebook, "I sometimes think the panda’s life is better than humans’, living in a top-class detached villa, eating for 10 hours a day, and sleeping the rest of the time."

In response to this post, a netizen commented, "Chengdu is a basin city and shares many similarities with Daegu. I imagine what it would be like to bring Fubao to Dalseong Park Zoo. Perhaps a panda born and raised in the metropolitan area could come to Daegu to help regional development." Mayor Hong replied, "If Daegu Grand Park is completed, we could bring pandas to Daegu as well."

Before his trip to Chengdu, Mayor Hong seemed somewhat unsympathetic to the 'Fubao phenomenon,' but his attitude appears to have changed after the trip. On the 23rd of last month, before his trip, on his political platform 'Dream of Youth,' when a supporter asked, "I heard Fubao lives in Chengdu. Will you meet Fubao?" he responded, "I don’t understand the obsession some have with Fubao," and drew a line by saying, "It’s just a panda that lived at Yongin Natural Farm (now Everland) and then returned to its hometown."