Everland, Korea Tourism Organization team up for twin panda travel campaign

Everland announced Thursday that it will partner with the Korea Tourism Organization on a nationwide travel-themed campaign centered on twin pandas Rui Bao and Hui Bao, running through the end of the year.

Samsung C&T's resort division Everland and the Korea Tourism Organization signed an MOU at KTO's office in Wonju, Gangwon Province, to launch the joint campaign titled "Rui and Hui's Every Corner of Korea."

The signing ceremony was attended by Kim Young-mi, head of KTO's Tourism AI Innovation Division, and Lee Chae-sung, executive vice president of Everland's resort business division. The two sides discussed plans to spread the campaign through their respective digital channels and explore ways to link it with regional tourism initiatives.

"Every Corner of Korea" is KTO's flagship domestic travel information service platform. The joint campaign follows the story of twin pandas Rui Bao and Hui Bao — born at Everland in 2023 — as they travel across the country ahead of their transfer to China.

Each month, one of six regional destinations across the country will be selected, with limited-edition merchandise featuring the twin pandas' travel story released for that region. The campaign is designed to encourage visitors to travel to each destination in person and enjoy nationwide travel perks such as a "digital tourism resident card" and half-price travel deals.

Everland had earlier chosen Jeolla Province — the hometown of zookeeper Kang Cheol-won, known to fans as the pandas' "grandfather" — as the first destination, drawing a strong response. The campaign will continue from Jeolla Province to Chungcheong Province, Jeju Island, Gyeongsang Province, Gangwon Province, and the Seoul and Gyeonggi Province area.

Under the MOU, the two organizations plan to expand the campaign's reach by closely connecting KTO's domestic tourism content platform with Everland's website and social media channels.

"This is a great opportunity to showcase the hidden charms of regional tourism across Korea through Rui Bao and Hui Bao, who are beloved by the public," Kim said. "We will pursue wide-ranging promotional efforts so that more people can join this campaign and travel to every corner of the country."

Lee said the campaign would contribute to revitalizing domestic regional tourism. "We will roll out a variety of programs and events so that the precious time the twin pandas and their fans have shared in Korea can be long remembered," he said.