"Bukang-i" Finally Moves Out of Waterway... Third Guidance Successful

[Anchor]

Bukang-i, which had been staying at the Busan North Port Waterfront Park for over a month, has finally made its way out of the waterway after three attempts. Authorities plan to continuously monitor whether Bukang-i successfully heads out to the open sea.

Reporter Kim su-yun brings us the final journey of Bukang-i, which has received much interest and affection from many people.

[Reporter]

Starting early in the morning, a floating work platform was installed in the waterway of the North Port Waterfront Park.

This marks the third attempt to guide Bukang-i to the open sea, featuring the installation of a long platform with a net, known as a pontoon, at the spot where it usually stayed.

Divers also climbed onto the platform to herd Bukang-i toward the sea.

Citizens continued to visit to catch a glimpse of its final moments.

Lined up along the path leading to the open sea, citizens watched Bukang-i's movements as they followed along.

This time, guidance was attempted in the opposite direction of the previous two tries.

However, as it repeatedly swam toward the open sea only to return, additional nets and pontoons had to be deployed, making the operation—initially scheduled to wrap up by morning—last longer than expected.

[Come here, Bukang-i. You have to come here to reach the sea. That is not the sea. Come this way.]

Around 6:00 p.m., about 10 hours after operations began, Bukang-i was spotted near Pier 1 of Busan Port outside the waterway, marking a successful guidance out of the waterway 33 days after it was first sighted on the 18th of last month.

[Jang Jin-tae and Jang Seo-eun / Dong-gu, Daegu: We happened to visit by chance, but it brought us so much laughter and joy, and we are truly grateful. Go Bukang-i!]

[Kim Hyun-seong / Marine Ecosystem Division, Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries: Our initial plan was to guide Bukang-i out of the waterway. With the installation of the net, we believe we have succeeded.]

Authorities plan to secure the nets to prevent Bukang-i from re-entering the waterway while monitoring whether it completely makes its way out to the open sea.

(Video by: Jeong Kyungmun | Video editing by: Jeong Yong-hwa)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.