There’s a shark stuck in a Korean city canal, and it’s become a local celebrity
On the morning of September 18, just under two weeks ago, someone spotted a large shark swimming in an artificial canal at Busan North Port in South Korea. Which must have been both terrifying and weird. Since then, it has gotten weirder.
The Busan shark soon drew enormous crowds, boosted business at local cafés and shops, earned a cute nickname, became an honorary ambassador for the city, and even ended up at the centre of a trademark dispute.
The authorities obviously tried to get rid of it, but after five hours, they gave up. At the time of writing, the shark is still there.
Meet Bukang-i
The shark is around 3.5 metres long and is thought to be a bronze whaler, also known as a copper shark, although experts have not definitively confirmed the species from the available footage. Basically, it is big and shark-like.
Somehow, it had made its way into the artificial waterway at Busan North Port Waterfront Park, a canal about 1.6 kilometres long and up to 40 metres wide.
Nobody is quite sure why it went in. The waterway contains plenty of fish, including mullet and horse mackerel, so one possibility is that the shark simply followed its dinner.
Whatever the reason, it stayed.
Before long, locals had nicknamed the Busan shark Bukang-i, a name derived from Bukhang, or North Port, and the Korean word for shark.
Soon, people were coming to see it. Then the trickle became a human flood.
By September 28, more than 600,000 visitors had reportedly come to the park since Bukang-i appeared. During the four-day Chuseok holiday alone, around 468,000 people visited the area.
Nearby businesses suddenly found themselves doing rather well. One café owner reported sales two or three times higher than usual, while a convenience store near the canal was reportedly doing better business than some branches near Busan’s famous Haeundae Beach.
The Busan shark had become a celeb, so the city gave it a job
The city decided to take advantage of Bukang-i’s unexpected popularity and asked residents whether the shark should become an honorary promotional ambassador.
More than 8,000 people voted. An impressive 91% said yes.
And so, on September 29, Busan officially appointed a wild shark swimming around one of its canals as an honorary ambassador. Bukang-i was unable to attend the ceremony because… well, you know. Instead, Busan’s existing mascot, Boogi, accepted the certificate on the shark’s behalf.
The city is now considering turning Bukang-i into a tourism character and using its image on merchandise. But there is a problem.
A private individual has reportedly applied to trademark the name Bukang-i, which could create a legal headache if the city decides to start selling products featuring its newest ambassador.
So, in less than two weeks, the shark has gained fans, boosted the local economy, won public office, and become involved in an intellectual-property dispute. Humans can be kind of dumb sometimes – the shark is probably just a bit freaked out and wants to be left alone.
The problem with that is that no one wants a massive, freaked-out shark permanently living in the canal.
The city tries to dismiss its new ambassador
Yesterday, 29 September, officials launched an operation to guide Bukang-i back towards the open sea. Several boats entered the waterway as crews used powerful jets of water to steer the shark toward the exit.
Crowds gathered along the canal to watch, despite intermittent rain. Some spectators reportedly shouted farewell messages to Bukang-i, presumably expecting its brief career as a Busan resident to be coming to an end.
But the shark was not for turning. It repeatedly swam close to the sides of the canal, changed direction and slipped past attempts to guide it towards the sea.
At one point officials thought they had succeeded. Then spectators farther along the canal started shouting that Bukang-i had reappeared.
After around five hours, the rescue operation was abandoned.
It is now the 30th, and the Busan shark is still swimming around the canal, getting photographed every couple of seconds. Apparently, officials are now preparing another attempt, expected around October 2. This time they plan to use a specially made net as well as boats and water jets.
Nobody knows whether Bukang-i is actually trapped. Some experts have suggested the shark may simply have little reason to leave. After all, there are fish to eat, and it might start enjoying the attention.
So Busan may have a harder time getting rid of Bukang-i than expected. Alternatively, by the time you read this, it may have gone. But for a while, Koreans got to experience the weird time when a huge shark became a tourist attraction and city ambassador. Which is pretty cool.
