A shark lingering in the waterway at Busan's North Port waterfront park sparked theme-driven buying in the 'Baby Shark' company's stock

A baby shark at SeaWorld San Diego. [The Pinkfong Company provided]
A baby shark at SeaWorld San Diego. [The Pinkfong Company provided]

Shares of The Pinkfong Company, the company behind the global children's hit "Baby Shark," surged Monday after a shark took up residence in a waterway at North Port Waterfront Park near Busan Station and refused to leave.

According to Korea Exchange, The Pinkfong Company closed up 7.11 percent at 12,960 won ($9) on Monday.

The stock briefly spiked 18.02 percent to 14,280 won in early trading as volume poured in, but gave back some of those gains in the afternoon as selling pressure emerged.

Residents photograph a shark spotted in the waterway at North Port Waterfront Park in Dong-gu, Busan, on Sunday. The shark, first reported in the waterway on Friday, has been circling the area and has not found its way out. Busan city authorities sent safety alerts to residents, but crowds flocked to the park over the weekend to catch a glimpse of the animal. [Yonhap]
Residents photograph a shark spotted in the waterway at North Port Waterfront Park in Dong-gu, Busan, on Sunday. The shark, first reported in the waterway on Friday, has been circling the area and has not found its way out. Busan city authorities sent safety alerts to residents, but crowds flocked to the park over the weekend to catch a glimpse of the animal. [Yonhap]

The rally appeared to be driven by theme-related buying after a roughly 3.5-meter shark spotted in the waterway at North Port Waterfront Park in Dong-gu, Busan, became a weekend sensation.

The shark has now been in the waterway for four days, and speculation spread rapidly online after a fish about 1 meter long was also found inside the waterway, fueling rumors that the shark may have given birth.

Social media was flooded with comments entertaining the possibility that the two animals were mother and pup. "Maybe it's circling in one spot because it's raising its young," one user wrote. "It was a mama shark coming to find Baby Shark — doo doo doo doo doo doo," wrote another, riffing on the song's famous refrain. Others noted that "the size of the animal and the spawning season line up."

The Korea Coast Guard first received a report of a shark in the waters of North Port Waterfront Park at around 8:57 a.m. on Friday.

Officers who responded consulted with the National Institute of Fisheries Science and attempted to guide the shark toward open water. However, concerns that forcibly driving it out could trigger aggressive behavior led authorities to stand down; they are now monitoring the situation and waiting for the shark to leave on its own.

The fisheries institute said rising water temperatures have increased the presence of warm-current fish species in the area, and the shark may have followed prey into the North Port waterway.


jshan@heraldcorp.com