부캉이 the Shark Finally Leaves Its Canal

For more than a month, a shark was the biggest star in Busan. Now it has finally left the small canal that was its home.

On September 18, a shark about three meters long swam into a man-made canal in a park near Busan Station. People called it 부캉이.

At first, people thought it was a sandbar shark. Later, scientists found that it was a female dusky shark, an endangered kind of shark.

부캉이 quickly became famous. Before it came, the park had about 2,000 visitors a day. In about a month, more than 1.5 million people came to see the shark.

Busan even made the shark an honorary ambassador for the city. A university student built an online map that showed where people had seen it.

But the canal was not a good home. It is only about three meters deep, and experts were not sure that the shark was eating. They also worried that the water would soon get colder than 18°C.

So the city and scientists tried to guide 부캉이 out. They used water pumps, a long net and even divers, but the shark kept coming back.

On October 21, 부캉이 finally reached the sea, but that night it swam back into the canal. The next day, workers opened a net and let the shark decide for itself.

After that, nobody saw 부캉이 for almost two days. Then on the afternoon of October 24, scientists found it about two kilometers away, near Busan’s international ferry terminal.

Scientists say 부캉이 looked healthy and is slowly exploring deeper water. It will need time to reach the open sea. For now, people in Busan are glad that their favorite shark is safe.