Seven in 10 Kindergarten Parents: "Bukangi Should Just Be Left Alone"

TeamBrains and Dongseonambuk survey 381 parents
71% say natural return should be prioritized
Top message for Bukangi: "Thank you so much"

Seven out of 10 parents of kindergarten children believe the blacktip shark "Bukangi," which is staying in Busan North Port, should be left alone rather than rescued by humans.

TeamBrains, an edtech company specializing in early childhood education, and PR firm Dongseonambuk said on October 11 that a survey of 381 adult men and women conducted through online channels from October 1 to 7 found that 71% of respondents said Bukangi "should just be left alone." The remaining 29% said it "should be rescued."

Results of a survey on “Bukangi” conducted by edtech company TeamBrainz and PR firm Dongseonambuk. Dongseonambuk

The results appear to reflect the view that, since Bukangi entered the artificial waterway on its own, where food is plentiful and the water is warm, it should be allowed to return to the sea naturally rather than risk injury during a human-led rescue.

The most common message respondents wanted to share with Bukangi was "Thank you so much," at 42%. This was followed by "Now hurry up and go" (29%), "I'm truly sorry" (16%), and "Have you had something to eat?" (10%). The responses appear to reflect gratitude that Bukangi has given children lasting memories, hope that it will return safely to its natural habitat, and regret that rising water temperatures have made things difficult for it.

Bukangi was first spotted on September 18 in an artificial waterway at the waterfront park in Busan North Port and has remained there ever since. Rescue authorities attempted to return it to the sea twice, on September 29 and October 2, but both attempts failed. During the second rescue attempt, they used a specially made net to guide Bukangi to a point about 100 meters from the waterway's exit, but it returned to the waterway the next day.

TeamBrains and Dongseonambuk said that as Bukangi drew visitors' attention over the Chuseok, National Foundation Day, and Hangul Day holidays, more people have expressed hope that it will return to the wild safely.

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