{"id":103878,"date":"2025-11-18T23:51:00","date_gmt":"2025-11-18T23:51:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=103878"},"modified":"2025-11-18T23:51:00","modified_gmt":"2025-11-18T23:51:00","slug":"baby-shark-how-a-90-second-clip-created-a-400m-business","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=103878","title":{"rendered":"Baby Shark: How a 90-second clip created a $400m business"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n \t<\/i> Read Time:<\/span>4 Minute, 23 Second <\/div>\n\n <\/div>
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When Kim Min-seok gave the go-ahead in June 2016 to publish a 90-second clip of a children\u2019s song, he had no idea what he was unleashing.<\/p>\n

It became a global phenomenon, clocking up more than 16 billion views \u2013\u00a0YouTube\u2019s most watched video ever.<\/p>\n

That song was the incredibly catchy Baby Shark.<\/p>\n

Not only has it\u00a0captivated toddlers and terrorised adults around the world,\u00a0it laid the foundations for its creator Pinkfong to become a media business worth hundreds of millions of dollars.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe didn\u2019t expect it to stand out from our other content,\u201d said Mr Kim, Pinkfong\u2019s chief executive, told the BBC from the firm\u2019s headquarters in Seoul.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut looking back, it became a major turning point that set the stage for our global journey.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Tuesday, that journey took Pinkfong to the South Korean stock market, where its shares rose by more than 9% on their debut, giving it a valuation of more than $400m (\u00a3304m).<\/p>\n

Pinkfong chief executive Kim Min-seok at the firm\u2019s stock market listing ceremony<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u2018We didn\u2019t expect a salary\u2019<\/h2>\n

Founded in 2010 as SmartStudy, the firm made digital content for children up to 12 years of age.<\/p>\n

It had just three employees, including Mr Kim and the firm\u2019s chief technology officer, Dongwoo Son.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe office was tiny \u2013 even smaller than this,\u201d recalled Mr Kim, gesturing to the conference room he was calling from.<\/p>\n

It was so small \u201cwe didn\u2019t even expect a salary at the time\u201d, he said through a translator.<\/p>\n

Pinkfong went through several major overhauls, including shifting its focus to toddlers.<\/p>\n

The firm grew to around 100 employees and prioritised simpler, learning-based games and content. \u201cAnd that\u2019s when Baby Shark emerged,\u201d Mr Kim said.<\/p>\n

The company has been known as Pinkfong since 2022, a name inspired by a cheerful and curious fox that featured in one of its early cartoons.<\/p>\n

It now has around 340 employees, with offices in Tokyo, Shanghai and Los Angeles.<\/p>\n

The firm was renamed Pinkfong after its cheerful and curious fox character in 2022<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Baby Shark moment<\/h2>\n

Baby Shark is believed to have originated in the US in the 1970s and was often sung at children\u2019s summer camps.<\/p>\n

The song, which repeats the phrase \u201cBaby shark, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo\u201d is \u201cattractive for children, though possibly annoying for adults,\u201d said media analyst Kevin Chew from the Nanyang Technological University.<\/p>\n

Mr Kim is also very aware of just how catchy it is.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s like a K-pop song. It\u2019s very fast-paced, rhythmical and it\u2019s addictive,\u201d he said, adding that the tune has a \u201cchanting\u201d effect, which makes it easy for children to remember.<\/p>\n

But it was an instant hit and only gained traction when its dance routine was featured at children\u2019s events in South East Asia.<\/p>\n

Videos of children and adults dancing to the song started to spread online and the clip went viral.<\/p>\n

There was a \u201cfestival-like feeling\u201d in the Pinkfong office, as the team watched its viewing numbers soar, Mr Kim said.<\/p>\n

In November 2020, the Baby Shark clip claimed the title of YouTube\u2019s most viewed.<\/p>\n

It generated around half of the firm\u2019s revenue in the years immediately after the video\u2019s release and became a springboard for new content and merchandise, he said.<\/p>\n

But Pinkfong faced a legal challenge in 2019 when it was accused of\u00a0plagiarising the work of an American composer.<\/p>\n

South Korea\u2019s Supreme Court rejected the case, after the company argued that its version was derived from a folk song in the public domain.<\/p>\n

The victory, Mr Kim said, gave the firm a lift as its shares went public.<\/p>\n

One-hit wonder?<\/h2>\n

Pinkfong\u2019s other franchises like Bebefinn and Sealook are growing fast but the firm must prove its success is not just reliant on Baby Shark, said Korea University business lecturer Min Jung Kim.<\/p>\n

The company\u2019s target audience is a major plus as toddlers tend to watch the same material repeatedly, she said.<\/p>\n

Kim Min-seok insists his business can grow beyond Baby Shark, which currently accounts for about a quarter of Pinkfong\u2019s revenue. Meanwhile, Bebefinn has leapt ahead, generating roughly 40% of the firm\u2019s earnings.<\/p>\n

One parent told the BBC that his family has mixed feelings about Pinkfong\u2019s videos.<\/p>\n

Father of two Saleem Nashef said he appreciates the educational qualities of the firm\u2019s content but his wife thinks Baby Shark is \u201ctoo over-stimulating for kids\u201d.<\/p>\n

Still, the viral video is apparently inescapable, as his daughter, who is about to turn three, will have a Baby Shark-themed birthday party.<\/p>\n

Whether Pinkfong can create other characters to match Baby Shark\u2019s commercial appeal remains unclear, said Prof Kim.<\/p>\n

It raised almost $52m in its stock market debut and plans to use the money to expand its line-up of films and characters, said Mr Kim.<\/p>\n

The company also aims to become a \u201ctech-driven\u201d content creator, using viewing patterns and other data to shape its new projects.<\/p>\n

Pinkfong has already achieved \u201cwhat many creators have always dreamed of,\u201d Mr Kim said.<\/p>\n

But now it must show investors that it is not just a one-hit wonder.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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