Shark 'Bukang-i' refuses to leave canal after 5-hour rescue attempt

Bukang-i was not going anywhere on Tuesday.

The shark has taken up residence in an artificial canal at Bukhang Waterfront Park in Dong-gu, Busan, for more than 10 days. It held its ground despite a coast guard operation that deployed water pumps to drive it out, and authorities were ultimately forced to call off the effort.

The Busan Coast Guard and other relevant authorities dispatched vessels and water pumps to the canal that day in an attempt to push Bukang-i out, but the plan did not go as intended, Yonhap reported.

The original scheme called for five vessels — including a 4.6-ton coast guard patrol boat, a 3-ton rescue craft and three fire department rescue boats — to blast water jets at the shark and herd it toward the canal exit.

The jets were meant to create foam and noise that would guide Bukang-i out of the canal.

Two coast guard rescue boats and the Central Maritime Special Rescue Unit were stationed outside the canal entrance as a precaution.

Starting at 10 a.m., coast guard and fire department crews located Bukang-i and slowly advanced from the inner canal toward the exit while firing water jets — but the shark stubbornly refused to leave.

Bukang-i hugged the canal walls where vessels could not easily follow, then darted behind the boats to evade the jets. The vessels repeatedly had to turn back into the canal and restart the herding operation.

Crews continued their efforts into the afternoon, but Bukang-i would not budge. The operation was finally suspended around 3:20 p.m., roughly five hours after it began.

Authorities plan to move to a "Plan B" — using nets to drive Bukang-i out of the canal.

However, fabricating the nets will take time, and the next rescue attempt is expected around Oct. 2.

News that Bukang-i had not left prompted a wave of reactions on SNS platforms including Threads. "Hey everyone, Bukang-i didn't go," one user wrote. Others posted: "Bukang-i didn't leave on Tuesday" and "Still couldn't make it out."

Bukang-i was first spotted in the waterfront park's artificial canal on Sept. 18.

Crowds drawn by the rare chance to see a large shark up close turned the park into a nationally recognized attraction.

According to the Busan Facilities Corporation, 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, for a chuseok total of 483,000.

Including visits counted from Sept. 19, when the corporation began its official tally, the cumulative figure reached approximately 568,800.

Even on Monday, the first weekday after the holiday ended, 38,000 people visited the park by 6 p.m. Adding those visitors, the running total reached 607,000 — meaning nearly 600,000 people have seen Bukang-i in person.

Riding a wave of public enthusiasm, Busan appointed Bukang-i an honorary promotional ambassador for the city, Yonhap reported.

Before the chuseok holiday, the city held a public poll on its official Instagram asking residents whether Bukang-i should be named honorary ambassador. More than 8,200 people participated, with 91 percent voting in favor.

At the appointment ceremony, Mayor Jeon Jae-soo plans to present the honorary ambassador certificate to "Bugi," the city's official communications character, on Bukang-i's behalf.