SEOUL — From viral children’s jingles to K-pop chart-toppers and game soundtracks, Korea’s pop culture is making a grand entrance onto the classical stage — and it’s more than a passing trend. Orchestras are now performing “Baby Shark” (2015), and the future of entertainment branding may very well be tuning in.

To mark the 10th anniversary of its beloved character Baby Shark, The Pinkfong Company released an orchestral version of the global hit on Sept. 19, performed by the London Symphony Orchestra (LSO). The commemorative track and limited-edition LP were launched simultaneously, while the YouTube video of the performance has already garnered over 360,000 views as of Oct. 16.

Meanwhile, SM Entertainment’s classical and jazz label SM Classics is expanding its footprint in the global concert circuit. Following a Tokyo performance last month, the company plans to collaborate with the Vienna Symphony Orchestra in February next year for a large-scale concert in Austria. The program will feature classical arrangements of some 20 songs from SM’s renowned artists, including Girls’ Generation, EXO and Red Velvet.

The trend extends beyond pop. Game developer Nexon staged ten orchestral concerts featuring music from its hit role-playing game Blue Archive between May and late September, drawing more than 12,000 attendees across five cities.

Orchestral Ambition Beyond One-Off Shows
Classical reinterpretations of pop and game music are not new, but they were once limited to special events or fan conventions. What distinguishes the current movement is its scale and sophistication: fully orchestrated productions, commercial album releases, and recurring international tours.

Crucially, content companies themselves — rather than outside music producers — now take the lead in every stage, from concept and arrangement to production and global promotion, treating classical adaptation as an extension of their intellectual property (IP) strategy.

“This project was a major global collaboration between our Korean headquarters and our U.S. subsidiary, carried out over a year since August 2022,” said Joo Hye-min, Chief Business Officer of Pinkfong. “To produce this three-minute video, we coordinated everything — from hiring the London Symphony Orchestra and arranger Kyle Gordon to recording at LSO St. Luke’s, as well as sound engineering and mixing.”

Reinventing the Familiar
For SM Classics, the challenge was to elevate K-pop’s emotional immediacy into symphonic expression.

“The songs selected for the Vienna Symphony performance are part of a repertoire we’ve been arranging since 2021,” said Moon Jung-jae, CEO of SM Classics. “Given the public’s familiarity with the originals, the pressure to reinterpret them meaningfully was immense.”

Moon revealed that his team studied orchestral masterpieces like Stravinsky’s The Firebird to guide their approach. “We even applied K-pop’s group-based songwriting method to orchestral work — four arrangers collaborated on Girls’ Generation’s ‘Into the New World,’” he added.

Nexon’s Na Dong-jin, publishing marketing director, shared similar ambitions. “We wanted to deliver an immersive concert experience. For instance, we extended short tracks, added traditional Korean instruments like the haegeum, and incorporated live choirs for greater emotional range,” Na said.

Perfect Synchrony Between Cultures
The cross-continental productions required meticulous coordination.
“We remotely monitored the LSO recording sessions in real time,” said Joo. “Even a minor timing mismatch could ruin the entire piece, so our conductors, sound engineers, and lighting designers in both Korea and the U.K. worked in perfect sync.”

Nexon also integrated live visuals to engage audiences. “We projected gameplay footage during the concerts and adjusted synchronization for every performance,” Na added.

A Symphony of Branding
Behind these lavish productions lies a long-term vision: transforming entertainment IP into cultural capital.

“In Japan, game companies host DJ-style festivals where fans dance to remixed soundtracks,” Na said. “We wanted to offer something more refined — a high-art experience that elevates our brand.”

For Pinkfong, the orchestral “Baby Shark” marks a milestone in redefining its identity. “After this collaboration, we saw new audiences sharing our video and posting reaction clips,” Joo said. “This showed us that Pinkfong can transcend children’s content and evolve into a globally recognized heritage brand that merges mass appeal with artistic sophistication.”

SM Classics, meanwhile, envisions the next stage of global expansion. “We aim to license our concert packages and sheet music for international ensembles,” Moon said. “Pinkfong is also considering global tours and musical theater adaptations,” Joo added.

SayArt.net
Kang In sig insig6622@naver.com