![Residents watch "Bukang-i," a shark swimming in the waterway of Bukhang Waterfront Park in Dong-gu, Busan, on Sunday, the last day of the chuseok holiday. [Yonhap]](https://wimg.heraldcorp.com/news/cms/2026/09/28/news-p.v1.20260928.93155316445740e0bf55ad9b4f0caedf_P1.jpg)
Cumulative visitors to Bukhang Waterfront Park in Busan have surpassed 600,000 since a shark nicknamed "Bukang-i" appeared in the park's artificial waterway.
The park drew 101,000 visitors on Thursday, the first day of the chuseok holiday, followed by 136,000 on Friday, 140,000 on Saturday and 106,000 on Sunday, bringing the holiday total to 483,000.
Including figures from Sept. 19, when authorities began official counts, the cumulative total reached 568,800.
Even on Monday, the first weekday after the holiday, 38,000 people visited the park by 6 p.m., pushing the running total to 607,000.
Throughout the holiday, residents and tourists flocked to the park's artificial waterway to watch the large shark. Many visitors came from outside Busan as well.
With Bukang-i still refusing to leave the waterway even after the chuseok break, the city of Busan, the Busan Maritime Police Agency and the National Institute of Fisheries Science decided to use water pumps at 10 a.m. Tuesday to guide the shark out to open sea.
husn7@heraldcorp.com
