'Bukang-i' was a tourist star — and a warning South Korea missed

"Come back again."

A large shark appeared without warning in the waters off Busan and, after being given the name "Bukang-i," became an overnight tourism sensation.

Hundreds of thousands of people flocked to catch a glimpse of it. When it finally returned to the open sea, crowds sent it off with fond farewells — "Come back soon," they called, "and stay healthy."

But should the country really be celebrating? Some experts say what Bukang-i left behind looks far more like a chilling warning than a cause for cheer.

Large sharks capable of harming people have been appearing in South Korean waters with increasing frequency — a shift too pronounced to dismiss as a stray animal or two that simply lost its way.

What makes the trend more alarming is the reason behind it. The sharks themselves have not changed. Rapidly warming seas have pushed their prey into Korean coastal waters, and the large predators that hunt them have followed.

Sharks, in other words, are emerging as a signal of sweeping change in the marine ecosystem. While the country was busy turning one shark into a tourist attraction, it was looking away from a transformation in nature that threatens people's livelihoods.

Last June, ahead of the peak summer season, the National Institute of Fisheries Science publicly urged caution about large sharks appearing in Korean waters, saying the increasing presence of species capable of harming humans required heightened marine safety management.

The numbers tell a stark story. The institute's East Sea Fisheries Research Institute counted 46 large shark sightings along the East Sea coast this year through June — 3.8 times the 12 recorded during the same period last year.

This goes well beyond a rise in casual sightings. The institute called on relevant agencies to strengthen safety measures, including installing shark barriers and operating deterrent devices along the coast.

The summer months tell the same story. From January through August this year, 73 large sharks were caught in nets along the East Sea coast — 2.5 times the 29 recorded in the same period last year. Shortfin mako sharks accounted for the largest share at 37, followed by porbeagle and blue sharks at 10 each, and sandbar and hammerhead sharks at five each.

Several of the species involved are large and potentially dangerous to humans. The shark that drew crowds to Busan's North Port is believed to have been a sandbar shark, one of the species on that list.

Nor is this a one-year anomaly. Large shark bycatch along the East Sea coast stood at just one in 2022, then climbed to 15 in 2023 and 44 in 2024.

The cause is no mystery: warming seas. The average surface water temperature along the East Sea coast from April through June this year was 16.3 degrees Celsius — 1.1 degrees above the long-term average and a striking 1.9 degrees higher than the same period last year. That warmth has drawn fish into Korean waters, and the sharks that feed on them have followed.

The National Institute of Fisheries Science said warm-current species such as mackerel and Pacific bluefin tuna — key prey for large sharks — have expanded their range into the East Sea. As the prey moves, the predators are increasingly likely to move with them.

The waters off Busan, where Bukang-i appeared, show even broader change. An institute survey of fish caught in two set-net sites off Gijang, Busan, from April through November last year identified 212 species in total — 151 of them subtropical, accounting for 71 percent of all species recorded.

The pace of change is itself alarming. According to the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, the average annual surface water temperature in seas around South Korea rose 1.6 degrees Celsius between 1968 and 2025 — more than double the global average increase of 0.76 degrees over the same period.

The problem extends well beyond a rise in shark numbers. The sharks' appearance signals a structural shift in South Korea's coastal ecosystem, with signs of change emerging simultaneously across the country's marine food web and fishing industry.

Habitats for sea life are already shifting, destabilizing traditional fishing grounds. Catches of staple species such as pollock and squid — long considered the backbone of Korean seafood — are declining. Summer heat waves are also causing growing losses among farmed marine species vulnerable to high water temperatures.

This year, high water temperatures killed about 6.98 million farmed fish and about 1.44 million abalone along the southern coast of South Gyeongsang Province through mid-September. Along the East Sea coast of North Gyeongsang Province, high temperatures killed more than 3.22 million farmed fish — the largest losses since records began.

Yet the public attention drawn by the shark has flowed in a very different direction. After Bukang-i was named, more than 600,000 people visited North Port through Monday. Busan city asked residents through its official SNS accounts whether the shark should be named an honorary ambassador, and appointed it to the role after an overwhelming show of support.

Busan Mayor Jeon Jae-soo said the city intended to actively use Bukang-i's appearance as tourism content. Critics say that approach shifted attention away from the rising water temperatures and marine ecosystem changes behind the shark's arrival, focusing instead on tourist footfall and regional publicity — treating an ecological signal too lightly.

The Green Party issued a statement Sept. 22 titled "The Shark Came to Warn Us," criticizing the tendency to treat the shark's appearance as mere spectacle. Citing rising water temperatures as the driver behind the northward migration of warm-current species and the surge in large shark sightings, the party said, "Now is not the time to cheer for sharks — it is the time to grasp the seriousness of what is happening and begin a fundamental transformation of our lives and systems."

Critics also noted that the push to commercialize the shark as a tourism product came before anyone had properly assessed its ecological condition or the reasons for its presence — and that the legal and institutional framework to protect such animals remains inadequate.

Green Korea United said Tuesday in a statement that the episode exposed gaps in the country's wildlife protection system that go beyond a simple debate over shark tourism. Local authorities moved to develop a character and tourism content before the reasons for the shark's entry and stay, and its health, had been adequately determined, the group said.

"If all that experience leaves behind is a name — Bukang-i — and a tourism product, then we have failed to learn what matters most," Green Korea United said, calling for the establishment of observation, rescue and protection protocols for large marine animals that enter harbors and waterfront spaces, along with the legal and institutional reforms needed to support them.