Giant pandas Rui Bao and Hui Bao / Courtesy of Everland
Korea’s obsession with its resident giant pandas is moving out of the bamboo enclosures and onto the open road.
Everland, the country’s largest theme park, announced Wednesday the launch of “Rui & Hui’s Journey Across Korea,” an expansive, monthslong marketing campaign that aims to convert raw fandom into domestic tourism. The initiative centers on the park's beloved twin giant pandas, Rui Bao and Hui Bao, positioning the animals as fictional travel guides spearheading a nationwide tour of six distinct provinces. By blending regional storytelling with limited-edition merchandise, the project seeks to entice urbanites into exploring the country's lesser-known locales.
The introductory leg of the campaign strikes a deeply nostalgic chord for the twins' massive following.
The tour begins in Jeolla Province — the hometown of Kang Cheol-won, the veteran Everland zookeeper affectionately known by fans as "grandpa panda." Timed to capitalize on the summer vacation season, this opening chapter embraces the trend of "chonkangseu," a trendy Korean portmanteau that combines the word chon — which means "rural village" or "the countryside" — with "vacance," the French word for vacation. The narrative heavily draws inspiration from Gochang, a southwestern county celebrated for its pastoral scenery and seasonal watermelon harvest.
