Hundreds of thousands of visitors have flocked to Busan's North Port Waterfront Park to see a shark nicknamed "Bukangi," delivering a short-lived windfall to nearby businesses. Sales at convenience stores and cafes in the area surged, and products evoking sharks flew off the shelves, spreading the "Bukangi effect" across the retail sector.
Average sales at CU convenience stores near North Port Waterfront Park jumped 76% between the 19th, shortly after the shark appeared, and the 27th, compared with the preceding period of Sept. 5 to 13, according to retail industry data released on the 29th. Sales at nearby Seven Eleven and emart24 stores rose 42% and 15%, respectively, over the same period.
Family visitors in particular drove gains across a wide range of categories beyond food, including toys and household goods. At Seven Eleven, sales of instant coffee and tea rose as much as sevenfold during the period, while stationery and toys increased tenfold and ice cream tripled. Sales of mobile phone accessories climbed 85% as visitors used their phones to photograph the shark.
At emart24, toy sales rose 741% over the same period and children's beverages gained 129%. Sales of hygiene products reflecting demand from day-trippers also rose sharply, with paper towels up 209% and wet wipes up 113%. "Convenience stores near North Port Waterfront Park normally see no major events, but the Chuseok holiday combined with the Bukangi effect drove sales up dramatically," an industry official said.
Nearby cafes also benefited. Average sales at four Starbucks outlets near the park rose 8% from the preceding period. Ediya also saw more foot traffic and orders than usual as visitors gathered in the area.
Food companies moved quickly to join the craze. Orion posted content on its official social media account featuring the shark-shaped crackers in its Gorae-bap (a fish-shaped cracker snack) line, with the message: "Gorae-bap has sharks too." Lotte Wellfood joined in with a post featuring its Jaws Bar ice pop, saying: "Live from Busan North Port: one more Jaws has appeared!"
Following those posts, sales of Jaws Bar and Gorae-bap at CU stores in Busan's Dong-gu district rose 54% and 29%, respectively, from the previous week. Both outpaced the nationwide increases at CU stores over the same period, which were 26% for Jaws Bar and 18% for Gorae-bap. At Seven Eleven stores near the park, Jaws Bar sales rose tenfold, far exceeding the 28% gain at stores nationwide. At nearby emart24 outlets, Gorae-bap sales surged 300% and Jaws Bar sales rose 67%.
The gains reflect the crowds that converged on the site in a short span as the shark drew public attention. Cumulative visitors to North Port Waterfront Park reached 568,800 between the 19th, when official counting began, and the 27th, according to the Busan Infrastructure Corporation. Busan and other agencies sent emergency text alerts and deployed 159 personnel at the site to manage the crowds.
The windfall appears set to end soon, as the shark is scheduled to leave the park and return to open water. Busan said it would use boats and water pumps at 10 a.m. on the 29th to guide the shark from the inner channel toward the open sea so that it swims out to natural waters on its own.
