Shark "Bukangyi" Jumps Over 7m Net and Returns Inside the Canal

Cumulative Visitor Numbers Exceed 800,000

The shark "Bukangyi," which has stayed in Bukhang Waterfront Park in Busan for over ten days, crossed over the net installed near the waterway exit to return inside the canal, even though the net was set up to guide it back out to sea.

On the last day of the Chuseok holiday, September 27th, citizens in Dong-gu, Busan, were watching the shark named "Bukangyi" swimming in the waterway of Bukhang Waterfront Park from early morning. Photo by Yonhap News

According to Yonhap News on October 3rd, Bukangyi returned inside the canal just one day after leaping over the large net that had been put in place during a rescue operation the previous day.

Previously, officials including the Busan Coast Guard had set up a large net measuring 50 meters in length and 6.8 meters in height near the 4th pedestrian bridge of Bukhang Waterfront Park with the aim of returning Bukangyi to the sea. The plan was to drag the net toward the sea and guide the shark away from the canal.

However, when the net became caught on the canal floor and Bukangyi showed no further intention of leaving, the authorities secured the net about 100 meters inside from the canal exit and suspended the rescue operation.

Despite this, Bukangyi lingered around the net, searching for gaps, and around 12:00 p.m. that day, eventually managed to cross back over the net into the interior area of the canal.

The rescue authorities, including the Busan Metropolitan Government, decided to monitor Bukangyi’s movements for the time being. Their stance is to observe whether the shark will make its own way back to the sea without any further artificial intervention.

At around 4:20 p.m. that day, the installed net was removed to secure a passageway for Bukangyi to move out into the open sea.

Organizations such as the Busan Facilities Management Corporation have strengthened their patrol efforts in anticipation of large crowds during the holiday period.

As Bukangyi remained in the canal even after a second rescue attempt, many citizens continued to flock to the waterfront park. As of 6:00 p.m. that day, 52,000 citizens had visited the park over the course of the day. Since Bukangyi was first discovered, the cumulative number of visitors to the park has surpassed 800,000.

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