‘Baby Shark’ makes millions for Korean family behind infectious tune
- Kim Min-seok co-founded SmartStudy in 2010, and its children’s educational brand, Pinkfong, released the hit song five years later
- Family fortune is now about US$125 million, much of it thanks to earworm sung by everyone from World Series fans to Lebanon protesters
It was practically the anthem for this year’s World Series, with tens of thousands of Washington Nationals fans clapping in unison and belting out “Baby Shark, doo-doo doo-doo doo-doo”.
In Lebanon, it became a rallying cry after a video of protesters singing to soothe a frightened toddler went viral.
And in many other places, the earworm has drawn derision, with late-night comedian Jimmy Kimmel suggesting its creator should be jailed for life.
To the contrary, the catchy tune about a family of sharks has become so lucrative that the Korean family behind it is now sitting on a rapidly growing multimillion-dollar fortune.
Kim Min-seok co-founded closely held SmartStudy in 2010, and five years later its children’s educational brand, Pinkfong, released Baby Shark.
His father runs Samsung Publishing, which also owns part of the start-up. The family fortune, based on stakes held by Kim’s immediate relatives in those two companies, is now about US$125 million – much of it thanks to the song.