Director: Shim Hyung-jun, Thomas Ko
A giant panda cub born in South Korea became a national phenomenon well before this 2024 documentary went into production, and her story turns out to carry more weight than a simple animal-attraction feature.
What is My Dearest Fu Bao about?
Fu Bao's arrival at a South Korean zoo turned her into an instant celebrity, with visitors and keepers alike swept up in the excitement of her early years. The documentary follows what happens as her scheduled return to China approaches, tracking how the zookeepers who raised her prepare for a farewell they'd been quietly dreading. A sudden shift in circumstances turns the planned goodbye into something far more emotionally charged than anyone on staff had braced for, and the film sits with that reaction rather than rushing past it.
Cast & crew
The film centers on Fu Bao herself, alongside fellow pandas Ai Bao, Le Bao, Rui Bao, and Hui Bao, with keepers Kang Cher-won, Song Young-kwan, and Oh Seung-hee giving the human side of the story its emotional grounding. Shim Hyung-jun and Thomas Ko direct.
Context & significance
My Dearest Fu Bao arrives as part of a broader wave of animal-focused documentaries built around a single, internationally recognized subject rather than a wide ecological survey. Its South Korean origin and 2024 release place it squarely within recent zoo-conservation media, and its 94-minute runtime allows it room to sit with the keepers' perspective rather than treat the panda purely as spectacle. The result leans less on narration-driven explanation and more on observed moments between animal and caretaker, letting the emotional stakes build gradually rather than announcing them upfront.
Where & how to watch
The documentary is available to stream on K-Time, and this page — including the full cast and everything written here — is free to browse without logging in. Streaming the film itself requires a K-Time account, on a platform designed with Farsi-speaking audiences and their viewing habits in mind.