29 September in the South Korean city of Busan, a story unfolded that would be hard to invent even for a comedy. A shark about 3,5 metres long, whom locals had already nicknamed Bukangi, could not be escorted out of the city canal of the North Port. And instead, it was officially granted the status of honorary PR ambassador of the city.
Bukangi appeared in the canal back on 18 September. At first, the authorities hoped it would leave for the sea on its own. When that did not happen, on 29 September five vessels were sent to the site. Their task was simple: with the help of powerful jets of water, gently guide the shark toward the exit. But Bukangi deftly evaded the rescuers several times and returned to its usual spot.
Over two weeks of observing the shark, about 600 thousand people came to Busan. People lined up along the embankment, filmed videos, left comments and voted online. Based on the results of the public vote, the city authorities made an unexpected but very logical decision: since the resident cannot be evicted, we will make it an ambassador.
Now Bukangi officially represents Busan. The city received free and extremely effective publicity, and the shark received a status that perhaps no other fish in the world has.
Sometimes the best solution to a problem is simply to stop fighting it and start being proud of it.
