Baby Shark Boy Makes K-pop Debut 10 Years After Viral Fame
Key Developments:
- Baby Shark Boy launches his first K-pop single, WAVE.
- Park Geonroung hopes to build a career beyond his viral childhood fame.
SEOUL (The Guardian) — August 21, 2026: Park Geonroung, the child performer who became globally recognised after appearing in the viral “Baby Shark Dance” video, has launched his first K-pop single a decade after the song turned him into an internet sensation.
Now 17, Park has made his solo debut under the stage name Baby Shark Boy, releasing WAVE on August 20. The track features Joohoney of K-pop group Monsta X and combines the familiar Baby Shark melody with an electropop sound.
Park was seven when he appeared in the video, performing the hand movements that became closely associated with the global children’s music phenomenon. The video has since surpassed 17.2 billion views, making it the most-watched video in YouTube history.
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Despite the enormous reach of the video, Park said his childhood after becoming famous was relatively ordinary. He recalled enjoying the filming experience and later finding the song difficult to get out of his head.
The original recording’s vocals were performed by another child performer, meaning Park became recognised primarily for his appearance and choreography rather than as the singer behind the track.
Now, he wants audiences to hear his own voice.
“Ten years ago, I was dancing next to Baby Shark. Now, I want to share my own voice and the stories I’ve written myself,” Park said.
From Viral Child Star to K-pop Artist
WAVE begins with a reference to the melody that helped make Park famous before moving into a contemporary electropop arrangement. Park has also contributed to the song’s lyrics, according to The Pinkfong Company.
For Park, the connection to Baby Shark is deliberate rather than something he wants to erase.
“WAVE feels more like a new beginning than a one-off project,” he said.
He added that he hopes to show different sides of himself through music and other forms of content.
The teenager has also said that his association with Baby Shark remains an important part of his story.
“To me, being the Baby Shark boy isn’t a past I want to leave behind,” Park said, describing the viral song as the beginning of a much larger journey.
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The Pinkfong Company, which developed Baby Shark into a global entertainment franchise, has positioned the release as a growth story rather than a conventional K-pop debut.
A Decade of Baby Shark
The Baby Shark Dance video was released in 2016 and eventually became a worldwide phenomenon. Its popularity surged further through social-media challenges and performances by K-pop artists.
The song itself predates the viral video and is based on a traditional children’s chant that existed in various forms before the modern Pinkfong version.
The 2016 video subsequently generated a global franchise encompassing children’s programmes, merchandise and other entertainment projects.
Park continued appearing in Pinkfong-related productions after his original appearance and briefly returned to the spotlight during the 10th anniversary period. His renewed appearance generated significant online interest.
The song’s extraordinary reach has also extended beyond YouTube, with Baby Shark becoming part of popular culture in sports, television and public events.
Park seeks his own Musical Identity
Park’s K-pop debut represents a shift from being recognised primarily as the child in a viral video to developing an identity as a musician.
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The release of WAVE allows him to use the familiarity of Baby Shark while introducing a different musical direction and his own creative input.
“I also thought there was something fun and meaningful about the idea of the little boy who once danced to the song growing up and now sharing a new song in his own voice,” Park said.
Geonroung Park, 17, has fond memories of his time as ‘Baby Shark Boy’. Photograph: The PinkFong Company.
His debut has attracted international attention precisely because of the unusual path that brought him into the K-pop industry: a childhood appearance in one of the world’s biggest internet hits followed, a decade later, by an attempt to establish a career on his own artistic terms.
For Park, the goal now appears to be broader than simply revisiting the success of Baby Shark.
He wants the viral childhood role to remain part of his history while building a distinct identity as a K-pop performer and songwriter.
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