Baby Shark Doo Doo Doo is a favorite song of children around the world. This video has been viewed the most on YouTube so far. It has exceeded 16 billion views. This song has remained at the top of popularity since its release on YouTube in June 2016. Children listen to this song every day. Children’s clothes, toys, home decorations and various types of food including cakes are being made with the theme of this song.
Recalling the day the 90-second clip of this song was released, Mr. Kim Min-seok, CEO of the production company Pinkfong, said, “When the clip was released, I didn’t realize what a storm this song was going to bring. We didn’t expect it to be different from our other content and become so popular.”
Pinkfong CEO Kim Min-seok is also very aware of how ‘catchy’ the song is. He said, “It’s like a K-pop song. Very fast-paced, rhythmic and addictive. The melody has a “chant-like” effect, which makes it easy for children to remember.
However, the song did not become an instant hit when it was first released. It began to gain popularity when its dance choreography began to be used at various children’s events in Southeast Asia. The song went viral as videos of children and adults dancing it went viral online.
Its popularity grew so quickly that a festive atmosphere was created in the Pinkfong office, Kim says. Finally, the big moment came in November 2020, when the Baby Shark clip took over the title of most-watched video on YouTube.
Kim says that in the years following the video’s release, the song accounted for about half of the company’s total revenue. The song served as a kind of launchpad for the expansion of new content and products.
But the path was not easy.
In 2019, Pinkfong was accused of copying the work of an American composer. However, the Supreme Court of South Korea dismissed the case. Pinkfong argued that their version was based on a folk song in the public domain.
The song Baby Shark is believed to have originated in the United States in the 1970s. It was sung at summer camps. The song repeatedly says, “Baby shark, doo doo doo doo doo doo.”
It not only captivated millions of children around the world, but also turned Pinkfong into a business worth hundreds of millions of dollars. “Looking back now, I can see that it was a major turning point in our global journey,” Kim said.
Pinkfong took another step forward in that journey on Tuesday. The company listed on the South Korean stock market. The company’s share price rose more than 9 percent on its first day of trading, valuing the company at more than $400 million.
Kim said they started their journey in 2010 through a company called SmartStudy. They created digital content suitable for children aged zero to 12.
The company had just three employees. Among them were CEO Kim Min-seok and the company’s chief technology officer Dongwoo Son. “The office was very small. So small that we didn’t even think about getting paid,” Kim said.
At one point, the company grew to about 100 employees and prioritized simple, learning-based games and content. And that’s when Baby Shark was born.
The company started its journey in 2022 under the name Pinkfong. Initially, they were named after a “lively and curious fox” character in a cartoon.
Pinkfong currently has about 340 employees. The headquarters is in Seoul and there are offices in Tokyo, Shanghai and Los Angeles.
Pinkfong’s other franchises, Beebefin and Siluk, are quickly gaining popularity. However, Min Jung Kim, a lecturer in the Department of Business Administration at Korea University, believes it is important to prove that the company is not overly dependent on “Baby Shark.”
He said one of the company’s biggest advantages is that children tend to watch the same content over and over again.
Kim Min-seok stressed that Pinkfong could grow beyond Baby Shark. Baby Shark currently accounts for about a quarter of the company’s total revenue. Meanwhile, Bibifin has already moved on. It now accounts for about 40 percent of the company’s total revenue.
But parents have mixed reactions to such videos.
Salim Nassef, a father of two, said he appreciates Pinkfong’s work as an educational content provider. But his wife thinks Baby Shark is “too exciting for kids.” Still, the song is almost impossible to avoid. His three-year-old daughter is having a Baby Shark-themed birthday party.
Kim said it’s unclear whether Pinkfong will be able to create another commercially powerful character like Baby Shark.
He said the company raised about $52 million on its first day on the stock market. The company plans to use the money to further expand its film and character-based content.
The company also wants to become a “tech-driven” content creator. It wants to analyze audience viewing patterns and other data to design new projects.
CEO Kim said, “Pinkfong has already achieved the success that many creators only dream of.”
But now the company needs to show investors that it is not just a company that survives on the strength of one song.
