In South Korea, a group of self-appointed guardians known as jagyeongdan—a term between vigilante group and neighbourhood watch—have taken turns since 18 September to protect a stranded dusky shark in a Busan canal. The female shark, named Bukang-i after the city's North Port, has drawn more than 1.6 million visitors to the waterfront park, which previously attracted about 2,000 people on a busy Saturday.
Nightly patrol by YouTubers
Each night, the guardians don hi-vis vests and carry selfie sticks to patrol the harbour, livestreaming the waterway and calling out visitors who shine torches or lasers into the water. Choi Won-jin, one of the protectors, said offenders bring fishing lamps or campsite lights, and are called "lantern villains" by Koreans online. Most of the guardians are YouTubers whose videos have been watched hundreds of thousands of times.
Na Tae-soo, a YouTuber living nearby, said most people comply when asked not to switch on torches, adding that "the animal thrashes about at night because of the torches, and it's dangerous." His footage captured the shark twisting sharply away from a beam of light at 2am and striking the canal side, after which the national institute of fisheries science confirmed an abrasion on her snout.
Authorities' attempts to free the shark
Authorities have twice tried to guide the shark back to sea, with a third attempt scheduled for Wednesday afternoon. The national institute of fisheries science recorded 46 large sharks off the east coast in the first half of this year, nearly four times more than a year earlier, attributing the rise to warmer seas and more prey fish.
Korean media report that 105 officials from seven agencies watch over the shark, with a team on standby to reach the water within three minutes. Choi disputes this, saying that after dark it is almost up to him and the others. The waterfront is closed to the public from midnight until 5am, a restriction the YouTubers say is impossible to enforce across the park's size.
Public affection and industry
The shark's plight has sparked an industry, including a commemorative soju, a baseball mascot in a shark cape, and an honorary city ambassadorship. Nearby shops report a surge in sales, and South Korea's president, Lee Jae Myung, visited the canal in mid-October. The fisheries institute says dusky sharks prefer water between 18C and 26C, with experts setting 15C as the point where physiological functions decline and 11C as precarious for survival; Busan officials expect the canal to reach that temperature after mid-November.
Kim Jong-hwan, a small business owner who livestreams the shark almost daily, said he found the water pumps and nets objectionable. "She's just an animal, and she came in by her own choice," he said. "If it gets cold, if there's no food, if the water doesn't suit her, she'll leave by herself. I'd like her to just be left alone, to rest there comfortably until then, and go."
