Beyond 'Buckangi': Making Busan North Port a lasting destination

Citizens and experts gathered to discuss ways to transform Busan's North Port into a lasting landmark destination, following the nationwide attention the area drew after a shark nicknamed "Buckangi" appeared in its waters. Proposals centered on creating reasons for residents and tourists to keep coming back even after the shark is gone.

The Busan Port Authority (BPA) held a citizen forum on North Port landmark strategies Tuesday afternoon at the conference hall of the Busan Port International Exhibition and Convention Center, sharing seven principles for revitalizing the North Port redevelopment project and plans for developing the waterfront. Under the theme "North Port returning to the people of Busan," experts and civic groups held a lively debate on the area's future.

Woo Shin-gu, a professor at Pusan National University and chairman of the North Port Redevelopment Master Architect Committee, said visitors "just stand at Byeolbit Waterway watching Buckangi" and proposed seven principles for a better city at North Port: strengthening identity and sense of place; establishing a core hub for the maritime capital; reinforcing pedestrian and transit links to the old city center; breaking down the boundary between the waterfront and the water; creating open architecture and open spaces; encouraging civic activity; and building a sustainable operational governance structure.

Woo proposed preserving the original wartime-era pier at Pier 1 as a history park and creating a "Busan Port Memory Hall" in part of the former international ferry terminal. He also called for a "memory route" connecting Pier 1 to the old Busan Customs House, Gukje Market and the Daecheong-ro area, and proposed establishing a North Port Operating Foundation with a facility management division and a content activation division. "The success or failure of North Port depends not on physical development but on operational and content competitiveness," he said.

Tak Yeong-sik, president of Yeonan Hangman Engineering Co., recalled that former President Roh Moo-hyun had stressed at a 2006 North Port redevelopment briefing that the area should be a place people could visit in slippers by simply taking the subway. "Nearly three years have passed since the waterfront park fully opened in November 2023, but it has yet to find its vitality," he said. He attributed this to gaps in the waterfront promenade, delays in constructing buildings above ground and underdeveloped public transit, adding that 13 rounds of project plan revisions had worsened the disconnection between the waterway-side park and the old city center.

As alternatives, he proposed a zone-by-zone concept linking a cruise terminal area (Welcome Harbor), the BPA headquarters precinct (Terrace Harbor) and a maritime deck in the cultural park (La Festa Harbor), along with a space where citizens could directly experience the sea — similar to Copenhagen's Harbor Bath in Denmark. He also put forward a plan to lower the maximum building height in the IT, media and exhibition district from 140 meters to 108 meters to preserve views of the old city center.

In a panel discussion moderated by Pusan National University professor Jeong Ju-cheol, Hong Sun-yeon, chief executive of Local by Local Co., drew on his experience at the 2009 North Port roundtable and said the area "should become a public forum for future generations and an experimental ground for diverse initiatives." Lee Ji-hu, standing chairman of the Busan Maritime Power Citizens' Council, said more than 1,100 people had signed a petition held over nine days at Sky Park, and called for Gadeokdo New Airport, Busan Station and North Port to be designed as a single integrated gateway corridor.

Do Han-yeong, secretary general of the Busan branch of Citizens' Coalition for Economic Justice, expressed support for the North Port Operating Foundation concept but noted that securing initial funding and cooperation between Busan city and the BPA remained key challenges. He particularly identified accessibility as the most urgent issue, saying a lawsuit over the transit center site should be resolved in a way that enhances public transit transfer functions.