The "Baby Shark" phenomenon continues to grip Korea's children's music market. "Sangeo Gajok" (Shark Family), the signature song of The Pinkfong Company, topped the kids' music chart again this year, extending its decade-long run at the top.
According to children's song usage data compiled by KT Genie Music from January 1 to April 27, "Shark Family" held the No. 1 spot for the 10th consecutive year, beating out rival tracks. The Pororo character song "Banana Chacha" came in second, while "Tinyping 100" from the "Catch! Tinyping" series ranked third.
Released in 2016, "Shark Family" first claimed the annual top spot the following year and has remained at the top ever since, establishing itself as flagship kids' content that crosses generations. Its repetitive and intuitive melody, along with easy-to-follow choreography, are cited as key factors behind its global spread.
The "Baby Shark Dance" video has surpassed 16 billion cumulative views on YouTube, making it the most-watched video in the platform's history. The English version of "Shark Family" also spent 20 consecutive weeks on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 main singles chart and topped the UK Official Charts' "Most Streamed Music Video" ranking.
The dominance of specific character intellectual property (IP) was also striking in this year's chart. Major IPs including Pinkfong, Pororo, and Tinyping accounted for more than half of the top 100 songs, leading the market. Pinkfong-related songs made up the largest share, followed by Pororo and Tinyping.
Tinyping, a recently emerging content brand, has established itself as a "rising star," placing multiple songs in the upper ranks including "Tinyping 100." Pororo, by contrast, has maintained steady influence through its existing hit songs.
Notably, older hits far outweigh new releases on the chart. A significant portion of the charting songs were released before 2020, indicating that the kids' song market consumes proven hits rather than new content.
By release year, 21 songs in the top 100 were released in 2014-2015, 56 in 2016-2020, and 23 in 2021-2024. Songs released before 2020 accounted for 77% of the total.
Songs released 12 years ago in 2014 totaled 17 tracks, including "Police Car," "Tyrannosaurus," and "Barabam." Commenting on the trend, an industry official said, "The scalability of character-driven content and the structure of repeated consumption have created this flow." The official added, "Once a song becomes familiar, it extends its life through videos, performances, and merchandise, giving it long-term staying power."
