Shark Suddenly Appears as Citizen Retrieves Phone Dropped While Filming at Busan Canal, Causing Scare

Since Sighting on the 18th, Shark Remains in the Canal
Unusual Crowds Gather for a Glimpse of the Shark

As crowds gathered at the Su-ro (waterway) of Busan North Port Waterside Park to catch a glimpse of a shark, a startling incident was captured in which a citizen entered the waterway to retrieve a dropped mobile phone and nearly came face-to-face with the shark.

On September 23, several online communities featured a video titled "People Are Starting to Cross the Line at the Busan Shark Canal."

The video shows citizens tightly packed along the railings of the canal at North Port Waterside Park, hoping to see the shark. One citizen is seen climbing down onto a stone at the edge of the canal and reaching into the water, searching for something.

According to the individual who filmed the video, the citizen had accidentally dropped their mobile phone into the water while trying to capture footage of the shark, and climbed down into the canal to retrieve it. The citizen searched underwater for a while and eventually found and pulled out the phone before returning to safety outside the canal.

Shortly after the citizen emerged from the water, the shark appeared near the surface close by, in a tense moment caught on camera. At that time, a large crowd of people waiting for the shark was present, and as soon as the shark appeared, many were seen immediately raising their phones to film the scene.

Some have raised concerns that, given the large gatherings of people eager to see the shark, local government-level management is necessary to prevent safety accidents. There are also warnings that actions such as approaching the waterway too closely or directly entering the water, as shown in the video, could easily lead to safety incidents.

Previously, between September 18 and September 23, a shark measuring approximately 3 to 3.5 meters in length was sighted several times at the North Port Waterside Park canal. The National Institute of Fisheries Science has speculated that the shark is a tawny nurse shark.

Since news of the shark spread quickly via social networking services (SNS), crowds of citizens flocked not only from Busan, but also from Gyeongnam, Gyeongbuk, and the greater Seoul metropolitan area. The park's usually quiet parking lot was packed with vehicles, and long lines of citizens formed along the canal's railings in an unusual spectacle.

With the spike in visitors, nearby businesses also benefited unexpectedly. BGF Retail announced that the total sales at CU stores near North Port Waterside Park from September 19 to 20 increased by 48.6% compared to a week earlier, and products featuring shark themes in particular proved popular.

At Busan Dong-gu's CU branch from September 19 to 21, sales of "Jaws Bar" ice cream increased by 28.4% compared to the previous week, "Goraebap" snacks were up by 21.6%, and products related to Pinkfong Baby Shark soared by 33.3%.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.