The first baby twin giant pandas born in Korea on Jan. 4 began their public debut at the theme park and zoo Everland in Yongin, Gyeonggi-do Province. The photo shows Rui Bao and Hui Bao accompanied by their mother Ai Bao on Jan. 3 looking around the zoo's indoor enclosure. (Everland)

By Aisylu Akhmetzianova

The first twin giant pandas born in Korea, Rui Bao and Hui Bao, on Jan. 4 began their public debut six months after their birth.

Samsung C&T Resort Group, which runs the theme park and zoo Everland in Yongin, Gyeonggi-do Province, on Jan. 3 said both cubs, which were born in July last year, will start spending time outside to mark the arrival of the new year.

The twins' mother Ai Bao was born in 2013 and father Le Bao in 2012; both parents were sent to Korea in March 2016. The cubs' older sister Fu Bao was born in 2020.

Since their birth, the twins have not been publicly seen and stayed inside the zoo's Panda World. Photos and videos of their growth were shared only through the social media and YouTube accounts of Everland.

Zookeeper Kang Cher-won said, "One of the twin cubs weighed merely 180 g and the other 140 g when they were born, but they now weigh more than 11 kgs each and are healthy enough to crawl after their mother. So we decided to begin public viewings of them."

Visitors can see the twins and their mother at select times every morning for the time being.

Considering the cubs' overall adaptation to life and their conditions, Everland plans to arrange an event in which all five members of the panda family, including their parents, can meet the public.

aisylu@korea.kr