[Anchor]

It has been exactly one month since "Bukangi," a blacktip reef shark, appeared at Busan's North Port. So far, 1.54 million people have visited the area to see Bukangi, revitalizing the local commercial district.

KNN reporter Ha Young-kwang has the story.

[Reporter]

The blacktip reef shark "Bukangi" first made its appearance at the North Port Waterfront Park on September 18.

Over the past month, 1.54 million people have visited the North Port to see Bukangi.

The average daily number of visitors has surged by 20 times.

The economic impact on the local area has also been substantial, with long waiting lines forming even at quiet nearby cafes.

Driven by the Bukangi boom, nearby festival venues drew even larger crowds than last year, becoming packed with people.

Busan Chinatown, accessible in about 10 minutes on foot, has also emerged as a new tourist course thanks to Bukangi.

[Gong Cha-shik & Gong Do-kyung / Yangsan, Gyeongsangnam-do: We came and saw (Bukangi) three times, so we feel great. While we were at it, we also visited the Chinatown festival nearby and were able to enjoy various events, making it a very joyful day.]

Experts analyze that the unique experience of encountering a wild shark in an urban artificial waterway stimulates people's imagination.

[Park Ki-ho / Professor of Psychology, Dong-eui University: It feels like it should go back (to the ocean), but when it appears, people are glad to see it. These various emotions make this character more complex and multidimensional, which is driving its popularity.]

In particular, as it became known that Bukangi is an endangered species, interest in the marine environment has grown even further.

[Cho Han-soo / Yangsan, Gyeongsangnam-do: Seeing Bukangi has made me pay much closer attention to environmental issues moving forward, such as problems caused by rising ocean temperatures.]

A single blacktip reef shark that happened to visit the North Port has now transformed into the brand "Bukangi," adding a new dimension of a marine ecological city to the tourism hub of Busan.

(Video recording: Kim Tae-yong / KNN, Video editing: Kim Seung-yeon / KNN)

Ha Young-kwang, KNN