Movie on Fu Bao set for fall release

A South Korean movie depicting the interaction between Fu Bao, the beloved giant panda born here in July 2020, and her zookeepers will be released in the fall.

Tentatively titled "Hello, Grandpa," the movie is currently under production by Korean animation production company Accomz, in collaboration with Everland, the Korean theme park and zoo where Fu Bao lived before departing for China.

"Hello, Grandpa" is to be an animated documentary based on interviews with zookeepers Song Young-gwan and Kang Cheol-won, who is widely known as "panda grandfather" by Fu Bao fans. The movie narrates stories of how the zookeepers met Fu Bao and how the beloved panda was nurtured under their hands until her journey to China.

According to Accomz, the company is pushing for the movie's release in either September or October. The movie is expected to share precious moments between pandas and zookeepers that have yet to be featured on television or YouTube.

Fu Bao resided at Everland in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, for 1,354 days before being relocated to China on April 3.

Born in Everland to Ai Bao and Le Bao, who were sent to South Korea by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2016 on a 15-year loan, Fu Bao was the first panda cub born in Korea through natural breeding.

Under China's endangered species conservation agreement, all pandas born overseas must return to China before they turn 4 years old.