'Bukang-i, are you really leaving today?' — second rescue attempt with 50-meter net set to begin

"Bukang-i, are you really leaving today?"

A second rescue operation to return the shark nicknamed "Bukang-i" to the open sea is set to begin Friday afternoon, after the animal spent 15 days in the artificial waterway of Busan's North Port Waterfront Park. A first attempt three days ago ended in failure.

A joint rescue team of Busan city officials and related agencies said the second operation would begin in earnest at 3:30 p.m. Friday, Yonhap reported.

The plan calls for a large net to be dragged from in front of the No. 4 pedestrian bridge across the waterway toward the open sea — a different approach from the first attempt.

The National Institute of Fisheries Science wove a net measuring 6.8 meters in height and 50 meters in length, with weights attached along the bottom to prevent the shark from slipping underneath.

Two vessels and 10 crew members will be deployed at the scene. The net will be stretched from one end of the waterway to the other to cut off any escape route, then slowly moved outward. One lead vessel will guide the center of the net while five crew members on each bank hold the sides and keep pace.

Behind the net, a second vessel equipped with a water pump will generate foam to herd Bukang-i toward the open sea.

Once the shark passes the No. 5 and No. 6 pedestrian bridges and moves out of the waterway, the team plans to fix the net in place to prevent it from returning.

Before the operation begins, the joint rescue team will spend two hours running equipment checks and rehearsing movement routes.

The first rescue attempt on Tuesday deployed vessels and water pumps, but Bukang-i evaded the jets of water and the effort was abandoned after five hours.

Meanwhile, Bukang-i's presence in the waterway spread widely through social media, drawing attention and affection from residents across the city.

Busan city officials appointed Bukang-i as an honorary promotional ambassador for the city, Yonhap reported.

The shark's appeal was evident in the numbers: from its first appearance at North Port on Sept. 18 through Monday, some 600,000 people visited the North Port Waterfront Park.

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

The investiture ceremony was conceived as Mayor Jeon Jae-soo presenting the honorary ambassador certificate to "Bugi," the city's official mascot character, on Bukang-i's behalf.

As the shark's popularity grew, one resident filed a trademark application combining the text "BUKANGI" with a shark image.