People Power Party lawmaker Lee Sang-wook calls for new attractions at North Port waterway park

A robotic whale shark swims at the Xiaomeisha Sea World aquarium in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China, on Sept. 22, 2024. [Xinhua]
A robotic whale shark swims at the Xiaomeisha Sea World aquarium in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China, on Sept. 22, 2024. [Xinhua]

Tourist traffic at Busan's North Port waterfront park has dropped sharply since "Bukang-i," the blacktip shark that drew nationwide attention to the park's artificial waterway, disappeared more than 10 days ago after swimming out to open sea.

Local politicians are now proposing a remedy: deploy an AI-powered underwater shark robot modeled after Bukang-i to revive the park's appeal.

At an administrative audit of Busan's Urban Space Planning Office on Thursday, People Power Party lawmaker Lee Sang-wook of the Construction and Transportation Committee proposed introducing an AI underwater shark robot as a way to boost tourism at North Port waterfront park, according to the Busan City Council.

"Thanks to Bukang-i, the North Port waterfront park drew a cumulative 1.7 million visitors, but since the shark left, the park has gone quiet again," Lee said, adding that new attractions were needed.

"We are in the age of AI. To establish Busan as a marine city, let's build and deploy an AI underwater shark robot in the same North Port waterway where Bukang-i swam," Lee said. "It could offer residents and tourists a fresh attraction."

In response, Busan Urban Space Planning Director Im Gyeong-mo said the city was doing its best to develop the North Port landmark site and would review the AI robot proposal.

Bukang-i, a roughly 3-meter female blacktip shark, had stayed in the park's artificial waterway for more than a month after first appearing on Sept. 18. At its peak, up to 140,000 people visited the park in a single day to see the shark.

Authorities eventually guided the shark back out to open water amid growing concerns about its health and public safety. Bukang-i has not been spotted since Oct. 27, and the National Institute of Fisheries Science said no sightings or public tips have been reported since then.

Visitor numbers fell sharply after the shark's departure, averaging between 4,000 and 6,000 people per day from Oct. 28 through Tuesday.

One factor cited for Bukang-i's disappearance is the drop in seawater temperature this month. Blacktip sharks prefer water between 18 and 26 degrees Celsius, and the water temperature at North Port fell below 20 degrees for the first time this autumn on Monday.

Some observers have suggested Bukang-i may have migrated to the warmer waters off the southern coast of Jeju Island.


jshan@heraldcorp.com