Rescuers try to guide shark Bukangi to the open sea while on a floating pontoon at Busan’s North Port Waterfront Park on Oct. 21.NEWS1
BUSAN — After 34 days in Busan's North Port, celebrity shark Bukangi is finally on the verge of returning to the open sea as city officials declared a third rescue operation a success.
“It doesn't want to leave. But it's time to go,” said Na Tae-soo, wearing a fluorescent vest bearing the words “Bukangi Guardian” while watching the third rescue operation on Wednesday.
Na had visited North Port Waterfront Park, home to the waterway where Bukangi had been staying, every day since discovering an injury to the shark's fin in late September.
“I was happy that Bukangi helped me connect with so many people,” Na said. “A big part of me wanted it to stay in North Port, but I think it's time to send it back to the sea.”
Na and many others prepared to bid farewell to the shark on Wednesday, as rescuers began their third attempt to guide it toward the open sea around 9:30 a.m.
The operation successfully guided Bukangi to a silt curtain near the end of the waterway leading to the open sea after about eight hours, according to the Busan city government and the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries.
At around 5:50 p.m., the rescue team finished securing a pontoon, a floating platform used for work on water, to the silt curtain. Bukangi moved more than 1 kilometer (0.6 miles) from the waterway it had been. Now there's just 40 meters (131 feet) between the shark and the open sea.
The Oceans Ministry considered the third rescue attempt a success, as the goal was not to force Bukangi all the way into the sea but to guide it to a point where it could swim out on its own.
Bukangi swims through the North Port Waterfront Park waterway during the third rescue operation on Oct. 21.NEWS1
“We guided Bukangi more than 1 kilometer through the waterway and installed three layers of netting, making it difficult for the shark to swim back into the inner waterway,” said Kim Hyun-sung, director of the Oceans Ministry's Marine Ecology Division. “We've pushed it past the silt curtain that had been an obstacle to reaching the open sea, so the rescue operation was successful.”
The ministry plans to closely monitor whether Bukangi swims the remaining distance on its own.
The biggest change in the latest operation compared to the previous two attempts was that rescuers guided the shark in the opposite direction.
During the first two attempts, rescuers tried to move Bukangi from the fifth pedestrian bridge toward the sixth. But the team encountered difficulties as the water grew deeper and underwater obstacles such as natural rocks became more numerous along that route.
During the second attempt on Oct. 2, the operation was halted because the net became caught on underwater obstacles just 80 meters from the open sea.
This time, rescuers chose the opposite exit toward the second pedestrian bridge, where there were fewer underwater obstacles.
Bukangi swims beside a pontoon and guiding net during the third rescue operation on Oct. 21.YONHAP
The rescue operation also came under new leadership. While the previous attempts had been led by the Busan city government and the National Institute of Fisheries Science, the latest operation was spearheaded by the Oceans Ministry and the National Marine Biodiversity Institute of Korea.
Rescuers installed a net measuring 50 meters wide and 7 meters tall on a pontoon, with eight professional divers stationed on the platform to guide Bukangi toward the open sea. Whenever the shark tried to turn back toward the inner waterway, the rescuers stirred the water with oars to redirect it.
The operation proceeded relatively smoothly.
Bukangi set off from the fifth pedestrian bridge at around 9:30 a.m. and passed the Opera Bridge, 600 meters away, within two hours. By around 1 p.m., the shark had reached Marina Bridge, which is another 500 meters away.
The rescue team installed additional netting at Marina Bridge to prevent Bukangi from turning back before guiding it toward the silt curtain. Professional divers also entered the water twice to inspect the condition of the nets.
Around 300 people gathered at North Port Waterfront Park on Wednesday to watch the rescue operation.
Spectators line the waterfront and bridges at North Port Waterfront Park in Busan to watch the third rescue operation on Oct. 21.NEWS1
About 20 police officers were busy securing a passage for the pontoon, calling out, “Please step away from the railing.”
“I've come to North Port almost every day since Bukangi arrived, and I've grown really attached, so it's bittersweet to see it go,” said Cha Gyu-seok, a resident of Choryang-dong in Busan's Dong District. “People from all over the country came to what used to be a quiet port, asking how Bukangi was doing and spending time together. It brought a lot of comfort to many of us.”
Bukangi appeared to be in good health.
“Its movements have not changed significantly since it was first spotted, with its tail beating about 35 times per minute,” said Kim Hyun-woo, a researcher at the NIFS's Coastal Sea Resources Division. “Its swimming speed has slowed somewhat, but that appears to be due to the shallow water, and there don't seem to be any major health concerns.”
However, Bukangi had not yet made it completely out to sea as of Wednesday evening. The Oceans Ministry plans to consult experts before deciding whether additional measures are necessary.
More than 1.6 million people visited North Port Waterfront Park between Sept. 19 and Sunday, following Bukangi's appearance in the waterway.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
