Cumulative visitors to Busan North Port Waterfront Park top 1.54 million

"Bukang-i," a blacktip shark, swims through the artificial waterway at Busan North Port Waterfront Park on Saturday, marking 30 days since the shark first appeared at the facility. [Yonhap]
"Bukang-i," a blacktip shark, swims through the artificial waterway at Busan North Port Waterfront Park on Saturday, marking 30 days since the shark first appeared at the facility. [Yonhap]

The popularity of "Bukang-i," a blacktip shark living in the artificial waterway at Busan North Port Waterfront Park in Dong-gu, shows no sign of fading. The shark marked one month since its first appearance on Saturday, with cumulative visitor numbers surpassing 1.54 million.

According to the Busan Facilities Corporation, 42,000 people visited the park by 6 p.m. Saturday alone.

The park typically draws about 2,000 visitors a day, but within a month of Bukang-i's first sighting on Sept. 18, the cumulative total had exceeded 1.54 million.

Visitors lined the railings along the waterway and crowded a pedestrian bridge spanning it, watching the shark glide leisurely through the water below.

Crowds gather at Busan North Port Waterfront Park in Dong-gu on Saturday to catch a glimpse of Bukang-i, the resident shark. [Yonhap]
Crowds gather at Busan North Port Waterfront Park in Dong-gu on Saturday to catch a glimpse of Bukang-i, the resident shark. [Yonhap]

Bukang-i is a female blacktip shark measuring about 3 meters in length, as confirmed by the National Institute of Fisheries Science. The blacktip shark is classified as an endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Rescue authorities have made two attempts to guide Bukang-i back out to open sea, but both efforts failed.


ehkim@heraldcorp.com