BUSAN — A shark that appeared in an artificial canal at a waterfront park in Busan's North Port has remained there for a fifth day, prompting the Busan Metropolitan Government and other agencies to consider ways to guide it back out to sea if it remains after the Chuseok holiday.
According to reporting by The Seoul Economic Daily on the 22nd, the Busan Metropolitan Government, Busan Port Authority, Busan Coast Guard and the National Institute of Fisheries Science held a meeting that afternoon to discuss the shark found at the North Port waterfront park.
The agencies decided first to watch whether the shark leaves the canal on its own through the Chuseok holiday, which runs from the 24th to the 27th. If it remains in the canal after the holiday ends, they plan to consider options such as guiding it toward open water.
The shark, measuring about 3.5 meters in length, was first spotted on the 18th in an artificial canal built at the North Port waterfront park in Busan's Dong District. The Coast Guard and others tried to drive it out of the canal at the time, but stopped the effort on the advice of the National Institute of Fisheries Science after the shark did not leave.
With the shark now in its fifth day in the canal, residents have been streaming in to see it in person. They have given it the nickname "Bukangi," a play on its discovery at the North Port.
The waterfront park, which normally draws an average of about 2,000 people a day, recorded some 20,000 visitors over the two days of last weekend. About 10,000 came on the 21st, a weekday, in a sharp increase. The agencies expect crowds seeking a look at the shark during the Chuseok holiday as well and plan to step up on-site safety management.
