We never really know where the course of life might bring us; one minute you’re a lone shark swimming in obscurity between the East and Yellow Seas, the next you’re in the cramped quarters of a Busan, South Korea canal and have improbably amassed an international following. Such is Bukangi’s story, the 11.5-foot shark who’s captured the interest of hundreds of thousands of fans — all for his seemingly having missed the left turn at Albuquerque. Bukangi has been stuck since mid-September in a narrow waterway in Busan’s north port known as “Buk Hang,” hence the nickname. He’s been welcomed so warmly, a whopping 480,000 people visited over a recent four-day holiday to catch a glimpse of Bukangi. And he was declared an honorary city ambassador for Busan! Still, the Coast Guard is trying to help the guy get out of his tight spot and back in the big ocean. On Tuesday, they sprayed jets of water to “gently propel” Bukangi in the right direction, but to no avail. Other plans are being mooted, but in the meantime, Bukangi is there to greet his adoring public. AS HE SHOULD!

A shark stranded in a canal in the South Korean port of Busan has become the country’s latest wildlife sensation, with the city saying about 600,000 people have flocked to see it over the past two weeks.

The 3.5m shark was first spotted in a narrow waterway in North Port on Sept. 18.

As the days passed without the shark finding its way back to the ocean, authorities on Tuesday launched a rescue operation to guide it out, but the effort failed.

The South Korean Coast Guard and other agencies deployed vessels to spray jets of water behind the shark to gently propel it toward the open ocean, but it swam away from the streams, videos published by Yonhap News Television showed.

Officials plan to use a net to try to guide the shark out of the canal tomorrow, the Chosun Daily reported.

The shark, reported to be a bronze whaler, has become something of a celebrity in South Korea and has been dubbed “Bukangi,” a nickname derived from “Buk Hang,” the Korean name for Busan’s north port, and the Korean suffix “-i”.

During the four-day Chuseok holiday last weekend, about 480,000 people visited the waterfront park where the shark was stranded, compared with the park’s usual daily average of about 2,000 visitors on weekends, according to a Busan city statement and media reports.

On Tuesday, Busan declared the shark an honorary public relations ambassador for the city after a poll on the city’s official Instagram account received 91 percent approval from about 8,000 participants.

[From Taipei Times]

So, I’m just gonna ask the elephant shark question in the room canal: are we sure Bukangi even wants to go back to the ocean? Has anyone asked him?? We don’t know what kind of a situation he was swimming away from, is what I’m saying. And even if there weren’t mitigating circumstances propelling him towards Busan, why are we assuming Bukangi wants what all other sharks want? Some critters take unexpected detours — why should we judge them for that! Plus, I ask you, who do artists write stories about: textbook sharks who fit the standard profile, or the ones who took a different path? Those are the heroes we look for — the ones who, be it through sheer determination or mere chance, took the current less traveled! Obviously, I’m approaching this from a more psycho-emotional side than a scientific one. So here’s my proposal: let’s see how this next attempt to usher Bukangi back to the ocean unfolds. If it works, great, then Bukangi can pick his own next adventure. But if it doesn’t, I say we open our minds (and hearts!) to the idea that the kid has made his choice. Busan bestowed upon him the honor of ambassador and Bukangi doesn’t take that lightly!

On the other fin, if Bukangi’s been sticking around hoping for a visit from first sons of Korea BTS, the shark has lousy timing, as they just started the South American leg of their ARIRANG World Tour. Unless he’s up for one helluva swim.