Shark ‘guardians’ on YouTube keep watch over stranded Bukang-i in Busan canal

Vigilante group of livestreamers spent a month protecting the endangered dusky shark from visitors and ‘lantern villains’ until she finally swam free

By LineZotpaper

Published21 October 2026

Updated21 October 2026

Read Time4 min

Sources2 outlets

A group of YouTubers who called themselves a jagyeongdan, or neighbourhood watch, spent a month patrolling a canal in Busan, South Korea, to protect a stranded 3-metre dusky shark that became a national celebrity. On Wednesday, after two failed attempts, the shark named Bukang-i was successfully guided back to sea, the country’s oceans ministry said, with the shark expected to continue into open water.

In South Korea, they call them jagyeongdan, a term that sits between vigilante group and neighbourhood watch. Each night a handful of YouTubers in hi-vis vests gathered around the harbour in Busan to protect an unlikely charge: a female dusky shark affectionately known as Bukang-i, stranded in the canal since 18 September.

For more than a month, the self-appointed guardians took turns patrolling the waterfront after dark, calling out anyone shining torches or lasers into the water. Some of their livestreams have been watched hundreds of thousands of times.

“They bring fishing lamps, or the kind of lights people use at a campsite,” said Choi Won-jin, one of the shark’s protectors, who has run a YouTube channel for 10 years covering trending issues in South Korea. He would arrive as the lights went out along the canal and wait for the offenders Koreans online call “lantern villains”.

“We’re ordinary members of the public,” Choi said. “So we have no choice but to put it nicely, and get them to understand as best we can.”

Na Tae-soo, a YouTuber who lived nearby, said most people complied when asked. “The animal thrashes about at night because of the torches, and it’s dangerous,” he said. His footage captured the shark twisting sharply away from a beam of light at 2am and striking the side of the canal. The national institute of fisheries science later confirmed an abrasion on her snout, saying a visitor’s torch had likely startled the shark into injury.

The canal attracted more than 1.6 million visitors, the city said, at a park that used to draw about 2,000 people on a busy Saturday. Korean media reported that 105 officials from seven agencies watched over the shark, with a team on standby to reach the water within three minutes. Choi disputed this, saying after dark it was mostly up to him and the others. The waterfront was closed from midnight until 5am, a restriction the YouTubers said was impossible to enforce across a park that size.

One night, Choi filmed a man tipping food waste into the water. No one saw the shark feed, though experts said feeding could happen in an instant and sharks her size did not need to eat often.

Authorities had twice tried to guide her back out to sea and failed, pausing further attempts on the grounds that more force would distress her. Cooler water had been expected to prompt her to move on. Dusky sharks prefer water between 18C and 26C, with experts putting 15C as the point below which physiological functions start to decline, and about 11C as the point at which survival becomes precarious. Busan city officials had expected the canal to reach that temperature after the middle of November.

The fisheries institute recorded 46 large sharks off the east coast in the first half of this year, nearly four times as many as a year earlier, which it attributed to warmer seas and more fish that sharks feed on.

Bukang-i’s fame has spawned a commemorative soju, a baseball mascot in a shark cape and an honorary city ambassadorship, with nearby shops reporting a surge in sales. South Korea’s president, Lee Jae Myung, visited the canal in mid-October.

None of the shark’s guardians thought she should be forced out. Choi said the city should protect her where she was until she left on her own. Kim Jong-hwan, who runs a small business and livestreamed the shark almost daily, said, “She’s just an animal, and she came in by her own choice. 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.”

Analysis

Why This Matters

The story highlights a grassroots, citizen-led conservation effort using social media to protect an endangered species, showing how ordinary people can self-organise to fill gaps in official oversight.
It reflects the growing influence of South Korean livestream culture on public behaviour and environmental awareness, from guarding a shark to shaping how authorities manage a wildlife spectacle.
Bukang-i’s freedom ends a month-long event that drew 1.6 million visitors, boosted local business and attracted presidential attention, but also raised questions about how cities handle mass tourism around vulnerable animals.

Background

Dusky sharks are listed as endangered globally, slow to reproduce and vulnerable to overfishing and habitat disturbance. The species prefers temperate coastal waters. Busan’s North Port canal, where Bukang-i became trapped, is a semi-enclosed waterway that usually sees little marine traffic. The shark’s prolonged stay and intense public interest turned the site into an impromptu zoo, prompting local authorities to deploy multiple agencies but also leading to nighttime conflicts with visitors using bright lights.

Key Perspectives

The YouTubers (jagyeongdan): They saw themselves as the shark’s only nighttime protection, disputing official claims of round-the-clock coverage and arguing that the park’s midnight closure was unenforceable. They wanted the shark left alone to leave naturally, opposing forceful attempts to guide her out.

Busan city and oceans ministry officials: Authorities deployed 105 officials from seven agencies, closed the park overnight and attempted rescue operations, pausing when further force risked distress. They expected cooler autumn water temperature to drive the shark out, which it eventually did.

Visitors and online commentators: Large crowds came to see the shark, but some “lantern villains” used torches and lasers that disturbed the animal, causing injury. Online discourse criticised this behaviour, while others bought commemorative merchandise and celebrated the shark’s celebrity.

What to Watch

The shark’s progress: oceans ministry officials expect her to move into open water, but whether she returns to the canal or remains offshore will be closely followed.
Future management: how Busan and other coastal cities handle similar wildlife spectacles if warm seas draw more large sharks closer to shore.
Legal or policy response: whether the incident prompts new rules on public interaction with stranded marine animals, or formal recognition of civilian guardian roles.

Sources

The night watch: the YouTubers who were guardians of a shark stuck in a South Korean canal · World news | The Guardian
South Korean officials struggle to free a shark trapped in Busan canal · Philadelphia Inquirer

Checked

12 claims in this story checked against 1 source: 8 supported.

Show each claim

Partly supportedThe livestreamers were a “vigilante group.”World news | The Guardian: “In South Korea, they call them jagyeongdan, a word whose meaning sits somewhere between vigilante group and neighbourhood watch.”
Partly supportedThe shark “finally swam free.”World news | The Guardian: “On Wednesday, after more than a month in the canal and at the third attempt, the shark was successfully guided out, South Korea’s oceans ministry said.”
Partly supportedThe canal attracted more than 1.6 million visitors.World news | The Guardian: “More than 1.6 million visitors came to see her, the city said, at a park that used to draw about 2,000 people on a busy Saturday.”
Partly supportedThe waterfront was closed from midnight until 5am.World news | The Guardian: “The waterfront was closed to the public from midnight until 5am, a restriction the YouTubers said was impossible to enforce across a park that size.”
SupportedYouTube “guardians” kept watch over stranded Bukang-i in a Busan canal.World news | The Guardian: “Each night they put on hi-vis vests, picked up their selfie sticks and gathered around the harbour in Busan to keep watch over an unlikely charge: a stranded shark affectionately known as Bukang-i.”
SupportedThe group spent a month protecting the shark from visitors, including people shining lights into the water.World news | The Guardian: “For the month that she was stranded, the group of self-appointed guardians took turns to protect her, patrolling the waterfront at night for visitors who might disturb the animal.”
SupportedOn Wednesday, after two failed attempts, the shark was successfully guided out, the oceans ministry said.World news | The Guardian: “On Wednesday, after more than a month in the canal and at the third attempt, the shark was successfully guided out, South Korea’s oceans ministry said.”
SupportedOfficials expected the shark to move into open water.World news | The Guardian: “Officials expect her to move into open water in time.”
SupportedChoi Won-jin said, “They bring fishing lamps, or the kind of lights people use at a campsite.”World news | The Guardian: ““They bring fishing lamps, or the kind of lights people use at a campsite,” said Choi Won-jin, one of the shark’s protectors.”
SupportedThe fisheries institute confirmed an abrasion on the shark’s snout and said a visitor’s torch likely startled her into injury.World news | The Guardian: “The national institute of fisheries science later confirmed an abrasion on her snout and said a visitor’s torch was likely to have startled the shark into injury.”
SupportedKorean media reported that 105 officials from seven agencies watched over the shark, with a team able to reach the water within three minutes.World news | The Guardian: “Korean media reported that 105 officials from seven agencies watched over her, with a team on standby to reach the water within three minutes.”
SupportedThe institute recorded 46 large sharks off the east coast in the first half of the year, nearly four times the number a year earlier.World news | The Guardian: “The fisheries institute recorded 46 large sharks off the east coast in the first half of this year, nearly four times as many as a year earlier, which it attributed to warmer seas and more of the fish that sharks feed on.”