1.48 Million Visitors Flock to See 'Bukang-i' Shark, Proving Enduring Popularity

On Saturday, the weekend (October 17), visitors poured into the Busan Bukhang Waterfront Park from early morning to catch a glimpse of the blacktip reef shark, affectionately nicknamed "Bukang-i."

Today marks the 30th day since Bukang-i first appeared in the park's artificial waterway.

In a way, the shark has been "living a month in Busan."

Visitors lined the railings of the artificial waterway and the pedestrian bridge crossing it, busy filming Bukang-i as it swam leisurely.

As soon as visitors who succeeded in filming cleared their spots, others quickly took their places to continue taking photos and videos.

Moon Ha-jun, a fifth-grader at an elementary school in Jeonnam-Gwangju Metropolitan City, said, "Bukang-i was so huge that I thought it was a killer whale at first."

He added, "We left our house with my family at 8:00 a.m. today to come here as the first stop on our Busan trip, and seeing it in person was truly amazing."

The Busan Metropolitan Government stated that as of 6:00 p.m. on the 16th, visitors to the Bukhang Waterfront Park totaled 20,000 for the day, bringing the cumulative total to 1.48 million.

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