{"id":164034,"date":"2025-12-02T11:54:18","date_gmt":"2025-12-02T11:54:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/164034\/"},"modified":"2025-12-02T11:54:18","modified_gmt":"2025-12-02T11:54:18","slug":"how-k-pop-is-pushing-into-childrens-content-worldwide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/164034\/","title":{"rendered":"How K-pop is pushing into children’s content worldwide"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Cover<\/p>\n

Cover art from the Little Golden Book Biography series featuring K-pop groups BTS, left, and BLACKPINK, both published earlier this year \/ Courtesy of Penguin Random House<\/p>\n

A genre once defined by teen and young adult fandoms, K-pop is now gradually pushing into children’s entertainment, stepping into spaces traditionally filled by preschool shows and beginner book series.<\/p>\n

The expansion introduces the genre to some of the youngest media consumers yet \u2014 a development educators and analysts say could have lasting effects on how children form cultural tastes and media routines.<\/p>\n

One of the latest examples comes from five-piece girl group FIFTY FIFTY. The group’s agency, ATTRAKT, said it released a seasonal single titled “Making Christmas Magical” on Nov. 28 in collaboration with Blocks Universe, a children’s content IP whose characters \u2014 Numberblocks, Alphablocks, Colorblocks and Wonderblocks \u2014 are widely used in U.K. classrooms and preschools. <\/p>\n

According to brand owner Alphablocks, the project marks the franchise’s first major cross-brand Christmas release uniting all four properties. The song was produced by Blue Zoo Animation Studio, a long-time Alphablocks partner and a BAFTA- and Emmy-winning, B Corp\u2013certified studio known for its educational animation work. <\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The jacket image of K-pop girl group FIFTY FIFTY’s new single “Making Christmas Magical,” released on Nov. 28 in collaboration with Blocks Universe \/ Courtesy of Blocks Universe<\/p>\n

Similar developments are taking shape in the U.S. publishing market. K-pop juggernauts BLACKPINK and BTS now appear in the Little Golden Book Biography series, following the release of their titles earlier this year. The line, aimed at beginning readers, distills the groups’ histories into simplified narratives and picture-book illustrations. <\/p>\n

BLACKPINK was also featured in “Blackpink: Queens of K-Pop,” a hardcover title published in 2020 by Union Square Kids. The book, categorized as juvenile nonfiction, profiles the band’s four members \u2014 Jisoo, Jennie, Rose and Lisa \u2014tracing their individual backgrounds, the group’s formation and their rise to global prominence in language tailored for young readers. <\/p>\n

Other K-pop acts have also entered preschool programming through collaborations with established children’s brands. <\/p>\n

NewJeans, for instance, appeared in dance videos with children’s entertainment company Pinkfong and its intellectual property Baby Shark in 2022. The members adapted their songs into easy-to-follow clips designed for viewers under seven, marking one of the genre’s clearest steps into children’s content.<\/p>\n

SM Entertainment’s boy band NCT Dream also moved into this space through a collaboration with Pinkfong’s dinosaur character Redrex, reworking the band’s hit “Hot Sauce” into a kid-friendly sing-along with simplified choreography and animated framing. That partnership later extended into retail, with the two agencies releasing “NCT-REX,” a family-friendly ready-to-eat meal line sold through the CU convenience store chain. <\/p>\n

‘Family-friendly’<\/p>\n

For entertainment companies, the appeal of these ventures is straightforward: Children represent an untapped audience that can be reached through softer, low-barrier entry points. Early exposure often builds familiarity long before children age into streaming platforms or concert-going demographics, creating the potential for long-term fan relationships that evolve over years.<\/p>\n

For idols, appearing in worldwide kids’ media, whether through educational characters, animated crossovers or beginner nonfiction, adds another layer to their global reach. It allows K-pop acts to circulate in spaces beyond traditional pop markets, embedding them in households and classrooms. <\/p>\n

Critics say these collaborations also reflect the broader maturation of K-pop as a cultural export, one that now moves fluidly across age groups, platforms and educational settings. <\/p>\n

Some argue that the rapid expansion highlights the need for clearer standards. While much of K-pop may appear “family-friendly” to the ears of overseas listeners, observers say Korea needs a more nuanced benchmark for content aimed specifically at children.<\/p>\n

“It’s time to think concretely about what K-pop for children should look like,” wrote music critic “Mimyo” Moon Young-min in a local media outlet. <\/p>\n

“With the genre now 25 years into its history, this conversation isn’t premature. Ideally, the upbeat and imaginative collaborations between idols and children’s content will help shape clearer guidelines for the future.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Cover art from the Little Golden Book Biography series featuring K-pop groups BTS, left, and BLACKPINK, both published…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":164035,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[146,85,46,409],"class_list":{"0":"post-164034","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-music","8":"tag-entertainment","9":"tag-il","10":"tag-israel","11":"tag-music"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/164034","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=164034"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/164034\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/164035"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=164034"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=164034"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=164034"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}