"Bukangi" Marks One Month in Busan, "In Good Health"; Visitors Match Lotte Home Game Attendance

1.5 million visitors... on par with attendance at 71 Giants home games
May head out on its own as water temperatures fall

“Bukangi,” a shark that entered an artificial canal at Busan North Port Waterfront Park, has now spent a month in Busan.

Citizens watch Bukangi swimming in a canal at the North Port Waterfront Park in Dong-gu, Busan, early in the morning. Yonhap News Agency

On October 18, Busan City and other relevant authorities said Bukangi was still in the canal, one month after it was first spotted there.

The 3-meter black shark was spotted on September 18 in the waterfront park canal, which is connected to the sea. It stayed there despite efforts to drive it out to open waters. Starting the following day, crowds flocked to see the large shark in person, turning it into a local attraction. Residents affectionately named it “Bukangi.”

The Korea Coast Guard made two attempts to lure Bukangi out to open waters, using water pumps and a specially made large net, but both failed. During the second rescue operation, officials succeeded in driving it to within 100 meters of the canal exit. However, the very next day, Bukangi crossed the net and returned farther into the canal.

Authorities have since suspended rescue operations and are monitoring Bukangi’s health while waiting for it to return to the sea on its own. A wound that appeared to have been caused by scraping against a hard object was found on its snout, but there were no signs that it had worsened or spread. Its swimming behavior and other signs also suggest that it is in otherwise good health.

The canal’s salinity is similar to that of the open sea, and officials found no freshwater flowing into it. The canal is also reportedly home to abundant prey for black sharks, including mullet and horse mackerel.

However, the water temperature in the canal has recently been around 22 degrees Celsius, and experts predict that Bukangi may struggle to survive if it falls below approximately 18 degrees. As autumn sets in and the water in the artificial canal grows colder, authorities hope Bukangi will make its way to the relatively warmer open sea on its own.

Bukangi is currently swimming along the canal walls at a steady speed of about 5 km/h, putting on what has been called a “fan service.” Its extended stay has brought an unexpected tourism boom to North Port Waterfront Park. The park, which previously averaged just over 2,000 visitors on weekends, has drawn more than 1.5 million visitors since Bukangi was first spotted. That figure is comparable to the total attendance at all 71 home games played at Busan Sajik Baseball Stadium last year during the regular season by the Lotte Giants, a professional baseball team based in Busan.

On October 1, Kang Gi-seong, owner of the Ediya Coffee North Port Waterfront Park branch, which enjoyed an unexpected boom thanks to Bukangi, visited Busan’s Dong-gu Office and donated 1 million won to the Hometown Love Donation program. Kang said, “I decided to donate some of our earnings back to the local community to express my gratitude to the visitors who sent us warm support despite the service shortcomings caused by the sudden crowds.”

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