Why Baby Shark went viral: catchy tune’s co-creator Ryan Lee of SmartStudy talks of the need for fun in education
Co-founder of South Korean media startup, which launched children’s educational brand Pinkfong, believes AI and robotics can make the serious business of learning more joyful
Ryan Seungkyu Lee, co-creator of the Baby Shark song, probably spends more time in the air than he does on the ground. Having clocked countless hours in 2019 on travel alone, the Korean CFO and co-founder of SmartStudy divides his time between Seoul, Hong Kong and Los Angeles, where the company has offices.
SmartStudy is the global entertainment company that launched the popular children’s brand Pinkfong, through which more than 4,000 songs, stories and games are produced and made available on mobile apps and other digital platforms.
We wanted to create a song with a catchy tune young children could dance to in front of their family – a song to unite the generations
The popular Baby Shark song, which has featured on The Late Late Show with James Corden with Josh Groban and Sophie Turner – and Celine Dion when she did the Carpool Karaoke show with the host – was conceived by SmartStudy’s founders as a way to bring families together.
“We wanted to create a song with a catchy tune young children could dance to in front of their family – a song to unite the generations,” says Lee.
His experience in online gaming and digital content has contributed to the company’s rapid growth. Lee launched several online gaming projects to make sure their products remain consumer-oriented. Tracking user habits on the app, the company becomes aware of time spent on their games and whether a service generates enough interest to develop similar popular content.
Education, Lee says, is a sacred matter and people take it very seriously. He considers Hong Kong to be special in that regard. “The children here do a lot of things even though they are very young. It’s quite similar to South Korea, in my opinion. Parents in both places want a lot,” he says.
Times have changed, Lee reminds us. “AI and robotics are game-changers. How to live with these technologies? Two hundred years ago, man didn’t have to work with machines, but these days we do. And as such we should understand how to live with AI and robotics. Maybe with STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) or coding, we can make things fun.”
As a service provider, the team at SmartStudy always has to be able to offer what the customers want. “We are still thinking of a lot of things. But the next product we have in mind is one targeting six- to 10-year-old girls,” Lee adds.