The Pinkfong Company
The Pinkfong Company is a South Korean children's entertainment and edutainment company best known for Pinkfong and the global Baby Shark phenomenon.
Last updated October 14, 2026
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Overview
The Pinkfong Company is a South Korean entertainment and children's content business whose intellectual property includes Pinkfong and Baby Shark. The company produces animated and music-led programming, educational applications, digital video, books and comics, interactive games, live shows, and licensed entertainment experiences. It was established in June 2010 under the names SmartStudy and Smart Books Media by Kim Min-seok, Lee Ryan Seung-kyu, and Park Hyun-woo, three former game-industry developers associated with companies including Nexon and NHN. The business was created within the wider Samsung Publishing family, where Kim was preparing to become a successor to the publishing business founded by his grandfather. The founders initially considered making games, but shifted toward children's education after concluding that their strongest opportunity was to combine publishing expertise with digital production. Their early work adapted children's songs into mobile applications and short music videos. The favorable response to these experiments led the company to treat global demand, rather than only the relatively small South Korean preschool market, as the central growth opportunity. The company developed multilingual content and distributed it through app stores, online video platforms, IPTV, and local services. Its approach emphasized cultural adaptation as well as translation: for example, its China-oriented work drew on familiar Chinese stories and was distributed through platforms such as Youku, iQiyi, and Tencent Video. The company expanded its format range during the 2010s. It moved from applications and music videos into mobile video-on-demand, comics, games, and character-based entertainment. In late 2013 it broadened its distribution through IPTV. Although its core positioning remained educational, management described the business as edutainment, balancing learning value with the engagement mechanisms of games, music, animation, and interactive media. In September 2016, the company returned more directly to game development with the mobile title Monster Super League, reflecting the founders' prior experience in game production and the capabilities of their staff. The decisive turning point came with Pinkfong, a magenta animated fox character and content brand introduced during the middle of the decade. A Pinkfong version of the traditional song and dance property Baby Shark was released in late 2015 and gained substantial attention on YouTube during 2016. Its repetitive music, choreography, bright animation, and easy participation made it highly shareable among children and families. By September 2018, the Baby Shark video associated with Pinkfong had accumulated hundreds of millions of views, while the company's applications had reportedly been downloaded by approximately 150 million people in 112 countries. The property subsequently became the company's defining international franchise and supported music, video, consumer products, live tours, animated programming, and interactive experiences. The company's commercial model combines direct digital distribution with platform licensing, advertising and video revenue, application sales, intellectual property licensing, publishing, and location-based or live entertainment. International distribution has been especially important, with the company producing content in languages including English, Spanish, Chinese, and Russian and tailoring material to regional viewing habits. Its best-known brands allow it to operate across preschool learning, family entertainment, music, animation, games, and character merchandising rather than relying on a single format. On January 6, 2022, the company changed its corporate name from SmartStudy to The Pinkfong Company. The renaming aligned the corporate identity with its best-known character and franchise portfolio. The company remains associated with Samsung Publishing and continues to operate as an international children…
History
The Pinkfong Company was founded in June 2010 as SmartStudy and Smart Books Media by Kim Min-seok, Lee Ryan Seung-kyu, and Park Hyun-woo. The founders had backgrounds in game development and online services, including work connected with Nexon and NHN. Kim also came from Samsung Publishing, a South Korean publishing business founded by his grandfather and later led by his father. Samsung Publishing became the parent-company context for the new digital venture. The founders initially considered making games but moved toward children's education after recognizing the opportunity to apply software and content-production skills to the preschool market. Early experiments converted children's songs into mobile applications and short music videos. The positive response encouraged the company to build content for international audiences rather than focusing only on South Korea. It developed material in multiple languages and sought local relevance in markets such as the United States and China. Distribution expanded through Google and Apple application stores, online video platforms, and IPTV, with Chinese content also appearing on local services including Youku, iQiyi, and Tencent Video. During the 2010s, the company's output broadened from educational applications and music videos to mobile video-on-demand, comics, games, and character-based entertainment. The business attempted to balance learning with the engagement of interactive media, describing this combination as edutainment. In September 2016, it released Monster Super League, a mobile game that drew on the team's earlier gaming expertise and demonstrated that the company was not limited to educational publishing. Pinkfong became the company's central character and brand during the middle of the decade. The magenta fox appeared in music-led preschool content, including a Baby Shark video released in late 2015. The video spread widely on YouTube in 2016, helped by its simple lyrics, repetitive structure, recognizable choreography, and strong appeal to children and families. By September 2018, the video had reached approximately 800 million views according to the cited company history, and the company reported around 150 million application downloads across 112 countries. Baby Shark's international visibility also brought attention to the wider Pinkfong portfolio and helped connect digital content with licensing, live tours, games, animation, and merchandise. The company continued to rely on a mixed model of applications, video distribution, platform partnerships, publishing, intellectual property licensing, and live entertainment. Its global approach involved more than literal translation: content was adapted to cultural expectations and platform behavior in each market. The company later adopted the name The Pinkfong Company on January 6, 2022. The renaming reflected the strategic importance of Pinkfong and Baby Shark to the corporate identity. The business remains an active South Korean children's entertainment company operating internationally across music, animation, education, games, apps, and character franchises.
- 2022
Corporate name changed to The Pinkfong Company
[1]SmartStudy formally changed its corporate name to The Pinkfong Company on January 6, 2022.
- 2018
Global reach reported
[1]The company reported approximately 150 million application downloads in 112 countries, while Baby Shark had accumulated roughly 800 million views by September.
- 2016
Baby Shark becomes a viral international property
[1]The Pinkfong Baby Shark video began attracting rapid attention on YouTube and became the company's breakout global franchise.
- 2016
Monster Super League released
[1]The company launched the mobile game Monster Super League, expanding its entertainment portfolio into a more conventional game format.
- 2015
Pinkfong Baby Shark content released
[1]A Pinkfong version of Baby Shark was released in late 2015, combining song, animation, and participatory dance.
- 2013
Expansion into IPTV distribution
[1]The company expanded its children's digital content distribution beyond applications and online services into IPTV during the latter part of 2013.
- 2010
Company founded as SmartStudy
[1]Kim Min-seok, Lee Ryan Seung-kyu, and Park Hyun-woo established the company in June 2010 under the names SmartStudy and Smart Books Media.
Products and positioning
A global preschool edutainment company that combines music, animation, learning content, games, apps, and character-driven entertainment. Its positioning is built around culturally adaptable, multilingual content distributed across digital platforms and extended into live experiences and licensing.
Children's entertainment and edutainment franchise · 2015
Pinkfong
Pinkfong is the company's principal children's character and content brand, represented by a magenta fox. It anchors music videos, animated programming, educational applications, books, games, live shows, and licensed merchandise. The brand is designed for preschool audiences and uses songs, repetition, movement, colorful animation, and simple educational themes to make content accessible across languages and markets.
Children's music and media franchise · 2015
Baby Shark
Baby Shark is the company's best-known music and media property. The Pinkfong version combines a familiar children's song with a brightly animated video and a repeatable dance routine. Its strong YouTube performance transformed the song into a broader franchise spanning digital video, music releases, live entertainment, animation, games, and consumer-product licensing.
Mobile game · 2016
Monster Super League
Monster Super League is a mobile game released in September 2016. Its launch drew on the founders' and team members' earlier experience in game development and represented an expansion from the company's core preschool education and music-video activities into a broader interactive entertainment category.
Marketing campaigns
- 2015Pinkfong Baby Shark digital launch
Global
The company introduced Baby Shark through Pinkfong's character-led music-video format, pairing a repetitive children's song with choreography and animated visuals designed for participation and sharing.
Outcome. The video became a major YouTube success and developed into the company's most visible global intellectual property.
- 2010Global-first children's content strategy
Global · South Korea · United States · China
From its early planning stage, the company emphasized international distribution because the founders viewed the domestic preschool market as limited. It developed multilingual content and adapted material to local cultural preferences and platform habits rather than relying only on direct translation.
Outcome. The strategy supported distribution through major application stores, IPTV, online video services, and Chinese platforms, and helped establish the company as an international children's content provider.
Brand decisions
2022
Corporate rebrand to The Pinkfong CompanyStrategyBackground
SmartStudy had become closely associated with the Pinkfong character and the Baby Shark franchise.
Action taken
The company changed its corporate name to The Pinkfong Company on January 6, 2022.
Aftermath
The corporate identity was aligned with the company's most recognizable consumer-facing brand and international entertainment portfolio.
2016
Expansion into mobile games with Monster Super LeagueProduct launchBackground
Although the company focused on children's education and entertainment, many team members had prior game-development experience.
Action taken
The company released Monster Super League in September 2016.
Aftermath
The release demonstrated a broader interpretation of the company's entertainment capabilities beyond preschool learning applications and music videos.
2013
Expansion across platforms and localized marketsStrategyBackground
The company sought to reach children outside South Korea and recognized that different markets preferred different content formats and interaction styles.
Action taken
It expanded into IPTV, produced multilingual content, and used locally relevant material and distribution services in markets such as China.
Aftermath
The platform and localization strategy broadened the company's international reach and created a base for later global franchise growth.
2010
Shift from game development toward children's edutainmentStrategyBackground
The founders initially considered making video games but believed their stronger opportunity was applying digital skills to children's education and content publishing.
Action taken
They began by digitizing children's songs and distributing them through mobile applications, later adding video, comics, games, and other entertainment formats.
Aftermath
This decision established the education-and-entertainment model that became the foundation for Pinkfong and Baby Shark.
Recent events
- 2022
SmartStudy changes its corporate name to The Pinkfong Company[1]
Leadership change
On January 6, 2022, SmartStudy adopted The Pinkfong Company as its corporate name, bringing the legal identity closer to its best-known entertainment brand.
- 2018
Baby Shark reaches major international visibility[1]
Other
By 2018, the company reported substantial global application reach, while Baby Shark had accumulated hundreds of millions of views and appeared on the UK singles chart.
- 2016
Baby Shark gains broad YouTube attention[1]
Product generation
The Pinkfong Baby Shark video began spreading rapidly on YouTube, establishing the property as the company's leading international franchise.
- 2016
The company returns to mobile games with Monster Super League[1]
Product launch
The company released Monster Super League, reflecting the founders' game-development backgrounds and an expansion beyond preschool video and application content.
- 2015
SmartStudy launches Pinkfong Baby Shark content[1]
Product launch
The company released a Pinkfong version of Baby Shark, combining a traditional children's song with animated characters and dance instructions.
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