Crowd-pleasing sharks aren’t just a movie thing in South Korea. A nearly 12-foot-long bronze whaler that wandered into a narrow canal in Busan’s North Port on Sept. 18 has drawn an estimated 600,000 visitors since, turning the stranded animal—nicknamed “Bukangi”—into a full-on attraction, per Reuters. Over the recent four-day Chuseok holiday alone, about 480,000 people came to the nearby waterfront park, which typically sees around 2,000 weekend visitors.
Authorities tried on Tuesday to usher the shark back to sea by directing streams of water behind it, but videos showed Bukangi dodging the jets of H2O instead. Officials now plan a net-assisted rescue attempt on Friday. “We’re adapting our response to the situation,” a Busan official says, per the AP. Busan has already leaned into the phenomenon, naming Bukangi an honorary public-relations ambassador after an Instagram poll showed 91% backing, notes Reuters. “Bukangi has naturally become a new part of Busan’s story with the interest and love of the city’s people,” Mayor Chun Jae-soo said in a statement, per the AP.