100,000 people join Everland baby panda naming vote in just 6 days

The baby panda, photographed Saturday at 81 days old [Everland]

A public vote to name South Korea's fourth domestically born giant panda cub has drawn massive participation since it launched.

Samsung C&T's resort division said Monday that more than 100,000 people had entered the naming contest for the baby panda at Everland in just six days.

Everland launched simultaneous online and in-person voting Tuesday through its app and at Panda World. Verification photos of visitors placing stickers on a voting board inside Panda World, along with AI-generated images compositing the cub's photo, have been widely shared on SNS and online communities.

Alongside this, short-form videos of Everland zookeepers casting their votes — released in sequence on Everland's SNS channels — have surpassed 2 million cumulative views. More videos are planned featuring keepers Gang Cheol-won, Oh Seung-hee, Song Yeong-gwan and Lee Se-hyeon, all of whom care for the panda family.

The five candidates were narrowed down from more than 10,000 entries submitted in an initial open-comment round, selected by a naming committee made up of zookeepers, veterinarians and staff from related departments. All five incorporate "Bao," the generational character shared by the panda family: Jubao (a treasure cherished like a pearl or jewel), Junbao (an outstanding and handsome treasure), Linbao (a precious treasure like beautiful jade), Yubao (a treasure watched over and blessed by all) and Shubao (a treasure as bright as the light of dawn).

Voting runs through Saturday and is also being held on the Chinese Embassy in Seoul's SNS channel. The winning name will be announced in September, when the cub reaches 100 days old. Everland will draw 21 winners from among participants to receive prizes including a trip to a panda base in China, an invitation to the cub's 100-day party, baby panda footprint merchandise and Everland admission tickets.

"Fans and zookeepers alike are coming together to give our youngest panda a precious name that will stay with her for life," an Everland official said. "We ask for your warm support so that our youngest panda can grow up healthy, surrounded by attention and blessings."

terry@heraldcorp.com