"They Say It Will Leave After Chuseok"—230,000 People Flocked to See Bukang-i

[Financial News] The shark 'Bukang-i,' which has been staying in the scenic waterway at Bukhang Waterfront Park in Busan, continued to draw crowds despite the rainy Chuseok holiday.
According to the Busan Infrastructure Corporation on Sept. 26, the park was crowded with families who came to see Bukang-i despite the rainy weather that began that morning.
On Sept. 24, the first day of the Chuseok holiday, 101,000 people visited to see the shark, including 93,000 during the day and 8,000 at night. On Sept. 25, Chuseok Day, another 136,000 people visited the waterfront park, including 100,000 during the day and 36,000 at night. The cumulative number of visitors exceeded 230,000 during the Chuseok holiday alone and surpassed 320,000 for the entire period.
Throughout the holiday, visitors carrying umbrellas were seen lined up along the waterway in many places, holding up their phones as they waited for the shark to appear.
Bukang-i has remained in the waterway since it was first spotted on Sept. 18. More than 10,000 visitors per day had come to see it on average, but the number of visitors surged during the Chuseok holiday as families flocked to the site. In response, Busan Metropolitan City Government, the Busan Infrastructure Corporation, the Dong-gu District Office and police deployed around 50 personnel per day to maintain emergency operations around the waterfront park.
They are focusing on managing the fourth and fifth pedestrian bridges and the waterfront areas, where visitors tend to concentrate. If excessive crowds gather, they will control access to certain sections or encourage visitors to leave. To prevent nighttime safety accidents, access to the waterway will also be restricted from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. the following day.
The National Institute of Fisheries Science (NIFS) estimated that the shark is a 3.5-meter sandbar shark. Bukang-i appears unable to find a way out because of the waterway's curved layout. If the shark does not leave the waterway on its own after the Chuseok holiday, Busan Metropolitan City Government, NIFS and other relevant agencies plan to make a net and move it to the open sea.
[email protected] Kim Hee-seon Reporter