SEOUL: “Baby shark, doo doo doo doo doo doo” goes the infectious children’s song that became a global hit after being released by South Korean entertainment company The Pinkfong Company in 2016.
A decade later, a real shark has become a viral sensation in South Korea after becoming trapped in an artificial waterway in the south-eastern coastal city of Busan.
Since it was first spotted on Sept 18, the 3.5m-long bronze whaler has been affectionately nicknamed “Bukangi”, after Busan’s North Port, where it has been circling.
It has drawn at least 600,000 visitors as of Sept 29, with the city authorities saying they will formally appoint the fish as Busan’s honorary promotional ambassador.
But beyond the fanfare of such a rare close-up sighting of a shark, environmentalists warn that its appearance could be a sign of a rapidly changing marine ecosystem around the Korean peninsula, linked to climate change.
On Sept 22, South Korea’s Green Party, a minor political party that advocates ecological sustainability and social justice, published a statement on its website arguing that the shark’s appearance should not be treated as entertainment, but as a warning about rising sea temperatures.
Historically, shark sightings in South Korea were almost exclusively confined to the shallower, warmer waters of the West Sea (also known as Yellow Sea), until the early 2000s.
The party claimed that the country’s nuclear power plants, which account for about 32% of South Korea’s electricity generation, discharge more than 30 billion tonnes of heated water into the sea each year.
It criticised the government’s plans for “mega-projects”, including a massive AI semiconductor cluster planned for the south-western region that would require new nuclear and LNG power plants, and called for greater recognition of the seriousness of the climate change situation.
According to a press release by the National Institute of Fisheries Science on Sept 30, there has been a spike in the appearance of large sharks on South Korea’s eastern coast since the start of 2026.
As of end August, there have been 73 instances of large shark bycatch, which is 2.5 times the figure for the same period in 2025.
The surface water temperature of coastal waters in South Korea rose by 1.6 deg C between 1968 and 2025. This is more than double the increase in the global average water temperature during the same period.
The National Institute of Fisheries Science also predicted that the trend of shark appearances is likely to continue, given the rise in water temperatures.
Hong Sun-kee, a professor at Mokpo National University’s Institute of Marine and Island Cultures, told The Straits Times that the shark sightings should prompt closer investigation into broader changes in the marine environment.
He cautioned against concluding too quickly that climate change alone was responsible for the shark appearances, saying that close attention should instead be paid to whether sea temperatures and the distribution of prey species are changing at the same time. Sharks are hunters that can follow their prey to unfamiliar waters.
Hong also pointed to a five-fold increase from last year in sightings of Nomura’s jellyfish, a large venomous species previously seen mainly along the East Sea (Sea of Japan), but has since spread to coastal waters in the South and West seas as well, based on a July report by the National Institute of Fisheries Science.
Conversely, coastal species that are particularly sensitive to changes in water temperature and have limited ability to migrate may see their habitats shrink, he warned.
“We also need to pursue long-term monitoring of changes in species distribution, conservation of spawning grounds, tidal flats and coastal habitats, and support for fisheries management and adjustments in aquaculture practices in response to shifting species distributions,” he said.
He added that conserving marine biodiversity was closely linked to food security, given its implications for the fishing industry.
Seafood is a staple of the Korean diet. South Korea’s per-capita consumption of fish and seafood is among the highest in the world at 61kg in 2023, based on Statista data.
South Korean news agency Yonhap quoted a Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries official as saying that changes in the marine environment are “a national issue that threatens the sustainability of the fishing industry”, and that the ministry is looking to implement “field-oriented, climate-adaptive fisheries policies” to protect the livelihoods of fishermen and help stabilise the marine ecosystem.
Beyond the sea, warming temperatures have also affected South Korea’s agricultural sector.
The Korea Rural Economic Institute’s 2025 annual report, released in June 2026, highlighted how climate change has increased yield volatility for key horticultural crops in South Korea, including cabbage, radish, garlic and onions, with extreme weather disrupting planting and harvesting schedules.
In August, South Korea recorded its highest-known temperature in 122 years when the south-eastern city of Yangsan sizzled to a record 42.5 deg C.
Warmer spring temperatures have also led to earlier flowering, increasing the risk of frost damage and affecting yields in apple and pear orchards.
On the southern island of Jeju, where citrus fruits account for more than 55% of its total agricultural revenue, growers have cited heat stress and irregular rainfall as factors affecting fruit size and sugar content.
As an alternative, some Jeju farmers have turned to sub-tropical crops such as passion fruit, dragon fruit, bananas to even olives.
Meanwhile, back in Busan, there is urgency in leading Bukangi back to deeper waters where it belongs.
Experts have highlighted the risk of the shark’s prolonged confinement in a shallow, narrow waterway which may further disorient its navigation ability.
An attempt on Sept 29 by the Busan authorities to guide the shark to open water using water pumps failed, and a second attempt using a net is set for Oct 2. - The Straits Times/ANN
