"Our Bukangi Has Become a Busan Star... 120,000 Flock Daily, Waiting Over an Hour in the Sun"

Outdoor Parking Lot at Full Capacity
Crowds Cause Increased Congestion

The popularity of "Bukangi," the shark staying in the waterway at Bukhang Waterfront Park in Dong-gu, Busan, continues to rise.

On the 29th of last month at Bukhang Waterfront Park in Buk-gu, Busan, the Busan Coast Guard and the Busan Fire and Disaster Headquarters were operating rescue boats and rubber boats spraying water jets to drive sharks (Bukangi) out of the waterway, while citizens were greeting the Bukangi. Photo by Yonhap News.

According to the city of Busan on October 4th, as of 6 p.m. the previous day, 52,000 citizens had visited Bukhang Waterfront Park in Dong-gu, Busan, where Bukangi has been staying. Since Bukangi was first spotted, the total number of visitors to the park has already exceeded 800,000. On this day, Bukangi crossed over the installed net and moved deeper inside the waterway, and even more citizens were expected to visit the park as a result.

In fact, starting from the morning hours, the outdoor parking lot at Busan International Passenger Terminal was completely full, restricting entry. The roads surrounding Bukhang Waterfront Park became increasingly chaotic as illegally parked vehicles and cars attempting to enter the park became mixed together.

The walking trails and pedestrian bridges around the waterway where Bukangi could be observed were packed with crowds, leaving no open space. Citizens waited under the hot sun for over an hour to catch a glimpse of Bukangi. Many foreign tourists dragging their suitcases were also seen among the crowd.

During the recent Chuseok holiday, the number of visitors was ▲101,000 on the 24th, ▲136,000 on the 25th, ▲140,000 on the 26th, and ▲106,000 on the 27th. The daily average number of visitors to Bukhang Waterfront Park during the holiday reached about 120,750. Considering that on regular holidays, the park typically sees around 2,000 visitors per day, the number of people flocking to the park was about 60 times higher.

In the waterways of Bukhang Waterfront Park in Dong-gu, Busan, a duck is swimming. Thread capture

Meanwhile, Bukangi has remained in the waterway at Bukhang Waterfront Park in Dong-gu, Busan, ever since it was first discovered on the morning of September 18th. Initially, rescue authorities deployed Coast Guard rescue boats and shark deterrent devices to try to lure Bukangi out to the open sea. However, following the advice from the National Institute of Fisheries Science, they suspended the operation. The reasoning was that attempting to forcefully lure the shark could agitate it and potentially make it aggressive.

However, because Bukangi did not leave the waterway even after the Chuseok holiday, the rescue authorities resumed efforts to guide it out. In the first rescue attempt, ships and water pumps were used, but Bukangi avoided the water jets and the operation failed after five hours. On October 2nd, a second attempt was made with a giant net measuring 50 meters in length and 6.8 meters in height, which was used to try to guide Bukangi toward the open sea by hauling the massive net in that direction. However, with the tide rising to high levels the previous day, Bukangi was able to cross over the installed net and return to the inner part of the waterway.

Now, the rescue authorities have decided to wait for Bukangi to leave the waterway on its own, instead of conducting further rescue operations. The National Institute of Fisheries Science and other organizations continue to monitor Bukangi’s health and believe that it is unable to feed while inside the waterway.

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