World
Shark returns to canal after rescue attempts in South Korea
A dusky shark nicknamed Bukang-i has repeatedly eluded rescue efforts in a Busan waterway despite drawing over 1.6 million visitors since September.
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The shark first appeared in a narrow canal in the South Korean port city of Busan on September 18 and quickly became the focus of rescue efforts. According to authorities, the animal was successfully guided out to open sea on Wednesday following a third rescue attempt, but later returned to the shallow waters from which it had been removed.
More than 1.6 million people visited the waterfront park near Busan to observe the shark between its discovery and October 20, according to the Busan Infrastructure Corporation. The animal acquired the nickname Bukang-i among observers and became locally renowned, drawing the attention of online audiences and local residents.
Concern about the shark's survival has grown since its initial entrapment. An expert warned that the animal, identified as an endangered dusky shark, may have had only two weeks to live, with particular concern that it had not eaten since becoming trapped in the artificial waterway. The extended period in the canal prompted authorities to attempt multiple rescue operations.
Local residents organised themselves to monitor the shark during its confinement. According to one account, groups known locally as jagyeongdan—described as combining elements of vigilante groups and neighbourhood watches—gathered nightly at the harbour in hi-vis vests to keep watch over the animal. Observers also tracked the situation through social media platforms including YouTube.
Two earlier rescue attempts to remove the shark from the canal had failed before the third operation on Wednesday. Following the latest effort to guide the animal back to sea, it returned to the canal, prompting authorities to develop new approaches to the situation.
Officials continued working to free the shark and return it to the open sea, though getting the animal to leave the waterway has proved difficult. The dusky shark has become an unofficial symbol for the city of Busan, even as consensus exists among observers and authorities that it should ultimately return to the ocean.