[Power K-Women] Pandaimo 'Obao'... "I Persevere by Receiving PT Twice a Week"

Seunghee Oh, Samsung C&T Resort Division Pro

First Female Giant Panda Zookeeper in Korea
Formed a Close Bond with Lubao through Persistent Interaction
Gangbao & Songbao: "Pandas Are Happy as Much as We Work Hard"
Obao: "I Want to Become a 'Happiness Designer' Like Rui and Hui"

The youngest twin pandas of the Giant Panda family 'Bao Family', known as 'Obao,' the aunt of Ruibao and Huibao. Oh Seung-hee is a professional in the Resort Division of Samsung C&T Corporation. Since July last year, Oh has been taking care of Ruibao and Huibao. She became the first female giant panda zookeeper in Korea. She gained fame by filming the popular Everland YouTube content 'Owadungdung.'

Being a zookeeper sometimes requires physical strength. Regardless of gender, if you lack strength, the day can be tough. Sometimes you have to lift animals or carry food. When it feels difficult, she reminds herself of the philosophy that 'no experience is worthless.' She receives personal training (PT) twice a week.

It is hard to work as a zookeeper with just vague 'love for animals.' Although it is difficult to call it a 'women-only wall,' it is true that Oh is the only female giant panda zookeeper. Oh says 'persistence' is the most important. Using her own know-how in animal care and customer communication, she seized the opportunity to become the aunt of Ruibao and Huibao. She was well prepared until the opportunity came.

- What was the biggest challenge before and after becoming a zookeeper?

▲ The biggest challenge was the process before becoming a zookeeper. I worked three shifts at 'Irion,' a pet playroom of the pet company DBS, taking care of dogs while preparing to join Everland. After joining, I cared for dogs for eight years including at Irion, then in 2020 my assignment changed to Panda World, starting a new challenge. Taking care of pets and wild animals are completely different jobs. I had to abandon all the previous work I learned over eight years and start anew.

- What is the most difficult task when caring for wild animals?

▲ Pets can be managed by directly touching them up close, but most wild animals cannot be handled that way. You have to carefully observe and understand the animal’s mind and respond accordingly.

- I heard you had a tense relationship with the Bao family’s father panda, Lubao, for the first six months.

▲ When I first came to Panda World in 2020 and met Lubao, he seemed unfamiliar with the voice of a female zookeeper. It was not easy to get close. Unlike pets, I couldn’t enter the enclosure to communicate directly. During adaptation, Lubao suddenly stood up and showed off. There was even a time when Lubao didn’t go out to the yard even after the Panda World door was opened. It took time to become close. Each time, senior zookeepers like Kang Cheol-won, Song Young-gwan, and Lee Se-hyun didn’t rush me and waited until Lubao came out to the yard following my lead. Fortunately, I succeeded in bonding with Lubao and getting him to go outside. From that day, we started to get closer. I felt like I had 'made it.'

- What was the biggest hardship you experienced at Panda World?

▲ No one expected Pubao to receive so much love. Apart from caring for pandas, the increase in visitors led to more customer service duties. Seniors assigned me to guide customers in the waiting line. My three years of experience handling guests at Irion helped. I had to judge how to respond to various customers such as families, solo visitors, and representatives in line, and gradually I got the hang of it. Also, pandas are sensitive to noise, so I consistently ask visitors to be mindful of noise. Recently, visitor culture has matured a lot, and Panda World has become so quiet it feels like no one is there. The culture of solo visits has also spread.

Zookeeper Oh Seung-hee is watching with delight as the twin pandas Ruibao and Huibao playfully interact. Photo by Huh Young-han younghan@

- Being a zookeeper must sometimes require strength. It must be tough for women. There is no 'royal road,' and there are not many female seniors or juniors at Panda World. How did you overcome this?

▲ I always think 'no experience is worthless.' That has been my driving force. Recently, when talking with juniors, they complain, "I want to focus on animal care, but there is too much customer service." I tell them, "There is no worthless experience in the world, so try to think differently." When I first came to Panda World in 2020, there were no female zookeepers. After switching to zookeeper duties, I was not given many animal care tasks at first. I steadily observed and learned from seniors. Now, I am in charge of the youngest pandas Ruibao and Huibao. Using my three years of experience at Irion, I work hard not only on animal care but also on communication with customers.

- Recently, you have been filming the 'Owadungdung' content and increasing external activities. Does this act as a driving force or a burden?

▲ At first, it was a big burden. I refused to appear. In the popular YouTube channel 'Talking Zoo Puppa TV,' zookeeper Kang Cheol-won cared for Pubao in the popular segment 'Omniscient Grandpa's Perspective (Jeonhalsi).' I worried that if I took charge of Owadungdung, the quality of the broadcast would be very different from Jeonhalsi. After receiving advice from seniors Kang Cheol-won and Song Young-gwan that "the zookeeper is not the one who shines, but the animals should shine," and "just as Jeonhalsi made Pubao shine, Owadungdung could be a way to make Ruibao and Huibao shine," I accepted the offer. I thought Ruibao and Huibao should be well known like Pubao. The response has been good, and I receive a lot of support on site. These days, Owadungdung acts as a driving force for my work. I enjoy it and have let go of the burden.

- Female zookeepers are still a minority. Even more so for giant panda zookeepers.

▲ Caring for giant pandas sometimes requires physical strength. So sometimes I receive consideration. I wasn’t always happy about being treated differently. Although I appreciated the consideration, I wondered if I was really incapable. At those times, I accepted it. Instead, I tried to find what I do better than others, especially male zookeepers. It was decorating and delicate work. I looked for tasks where I could decorate for the animals’ enrichment or communicate delicately with them. When raising red pandas, I made a birthday cake for the first time. Previously, there were many simple cakes made of bamboo. I gave a 'my own cake' with patterns. Seeing the internal reaction, I thought 'this is it.' These days, I try to catch up with Songbao (zookeeper Song Young-gwan)’s enrichment skills.

- Do you have an exercise routine?

▲ Seniors exercised separately. I started exercising following them and have been doing it for about two years. Regardless of gender, you must not fall behind physically. I receive PT twice a week. I focus on strength training, training arms and legs. Each session lasts about an hour, with 30 minutes each for upper and lower body, and the rest for cardio.

- Are there parts that are harder to do equally as male zookeepers?

▲ After Ruibao and Huibao were born last July, panda world zookeepers worked overnight shifts for three months?from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. Since they are wild animals and night shifts are dangerous and tough, there were concerns about my work as a woman, but seniors trusted me and let me join. That made me decide to build more stamina. I really didn’t want to say 'I can’t do it' as much as I was entrusted.

Everland Panda World zookeeper Oh Seung-hee is being interviewed by Asia Economy in the Panda World office. Photo by Heo Young-han younghan@

- You have the title of Korea’s first female giant panda zookeeper.

▲ I am not a female zookeeper but simply a zookeeper who raises the kids (Ruibao and Huibao) to grow up healthy. My big goal is to raise Ruibao and Huibao healthily like their older sister Pubao.

- What is your biggest goal?

▲ I want to be the person who makes the animals I am in charge of the happiest. You could say I want to be a 'zookeeper the animals seek.' The animals I care for, like Ruibao and Huibao, should be the happiest among animals in Korea at least. Zoos exist for species conservation. Among the animals I am responsible for in the zoo, I want to be the 'happiness designer' who makes them the happiest.

- What message would you like to give to female junior and colleague zookeepers?

▲ Above all, persistence is important. I also want to urge them to build stamina. For example, if you persistently work and feel physically weak, you will work on building stamina. Also, you must constantly strive to find your own strengths. Always keep a question mark in your mind. For example, if the mother panda Aibao usually wakes up at 3 a.m., think about why she woke up at 2 a.m. If you get used to it, that’s the end. I tell juniors, "Don’t just do the work, but ask a lot why you have to do it."

- What would you like to say to Ruibao and Huibao?

▲ I hope you grow up healthy as you are now. When visitors see Ruibao and Huibao and look at social media content, it seems they feel a 'soft and warm' emotion from them. Other people’s perspectives on Ruibao and Huibao are more interesting than my own feelings toward them. Ruibao and Huibao bring a lot of fun and happiness to many people. They already have cuteness, so they just need to grow up healthy.

Oh Seung-hee, Everland Zookeeper, is

Korea’s first female giant panda zookeeper. She belongs to the Everland Zoo under Samsung C&T Corporation’s Resort Division. She mainly cares for Ruibao and Huibao, the famous 'younger twin siblings of Pubao.' She graduated from the Department of Animal Resources at Shingu College. She worked for four years at Irion, the pet playroom of the pet company DBS, then joined Samsung C&T Corporation’s Guide Dog School in 2017. In March 2020, she moved to Everland Zoo and was in charge of red pandas. Last July, when Ruibao and Huibao were born, she changed her assignment to giant pandas.