Thought It Left, But "Look, Bukang!": Rescue Operation to Guide Shark Back to Open Sea Hits Snag

Rescue operations to return "Bukang," a shark that has been staying in the artificial waterway of the Bukang Waterfront Park in Busan for 12 days, back to the sea have begun, but the shark has not left the waterway.

Citizens flocked to the Bukang Waterfront Park in Dong-gu, Busan, this morning (29th) even before the rescue operation started.

Despite the inclement weather with intermittent rain, citizens visited the waterfront park to catch what might be their last glimpse of Bukang.

One citizen held a banner reading "Come back again, Bukang" and shouted loudly, "Goodbye, Bukang."


At 10:00 a.m., coinciding with high tide, the seawater became somewhat deeper, and Bukang was out of sight for a while.

A short time later, Bukang swam vigorously, exposing its fins above the water.

A tourist from Japan shouted "same," the Japanese word for shark, every time Bukang appeared.

The rescue operation to send Bukang back to the open sea began at 11:00 a.m., an hour later than the originally scheduled 10:00 a.m.


A total of five vessels, including rescue boats and motorboats from the Busan Coast Guard and the Busan Fire Headquarters, were mobilized.

Rescue authorities began guiding Bukang from around the 4th pedestrian bridge inside the waterway by spraying water with water pumps mounted on the vessels.

They then slowly moved toward the 5th pedestrian bridge.

Rescue authorities guided Bukang by spraying water from a distance without cornering it as much as possible.

As the vessels moved toward the end of the waterway, Bukang appeared to have left, but it showed itself again near the 4th pedestrian bridge.

Citizens cheered, shouting, " Wow, it's Bukang," and yelled to the rescue workers, "Bukang is right here."

Rescue authorities changed tactics to guard Bukang's expected movement routes and spray water, but this also proved ineffective.

Although the rescue operation lasted for about an hour and 40 minutes, Bukang continued to circle the waterway and was spotted by citizens.


Rescue authorities will continue the rescue operation for about another hour in the afternoon.

If Bukang still does not exit the waterway after that, they plan to set a new date and use a large net to guide it into the sea.

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.