Ex-NCT member sees opportunity in K-pop music for kids

Mark Lee is developing kids-pop through the Mark Lee & Kids-POP YouTube series on Upper Room’s channel. The former NCT member launched the series in September after leaving NCT and SM Entertainment in April. Each episode has him meeting children and drawing musical ideas from their experiences. He says the project addresses a gap in K-pop, where songs often reach children without being created specifically for them.

The Mark Lee & Kids-POP episode released Oct. 9 featured two children at a kids’ cafe in Gimpo, Gyeonggi Province, followed by a visit to a coin karaoke room.

The children quickly lost interest when Mark sang Too Much because its lyrics were in English.

The children selected YB’s A Flying Butterfly from 2006 and Kim Kwang-seok’s Where Wind Comes From from 1994.

NCT Dream released an animated version of Hot Sauce with Pinkfong in 2021, portraying the members as dinosaur characters called NCT-REX.

The K-pop industry has commonly used collaborations with children’s entertainment brands, including MOMOLAND’s Banana Cha Cha with Pororo and ENHYPEN’s Hey Tayo.

Published Oct 19, 2026 7:00 am KST

Updated Oct 19, 2026 9:35 am KST

Between nursery rhymes and idol pop, Mark Lee sees room for 'kids-pop'

K-pop songs have long rung out across Korean kindergartens and elementary school classrooms, but few of them were ever written with children in mind. Former NCT member Mark Lee says he wants to fill that gap himself with what he calls "kids-pop."

The idea has taken shape through "Mark Lee & Kids-POP," a YouTube series launched in September on the channel for Upper Room, the label he founded after leaving boy band NCT and SM Entertainment in April. In each episode, the Canadian singer meets children, listens to their stories and looks for musical ideas in them.

The gap he points to is a familiar one. iKON’s 2018 breakup song “Love Scenario” became a singalong staple among kindergartners, in addition to topping Korea’s year-end digital chart.

Even “Golden,” the Billboard Hot 100 chart-topper from Netflix’s animated film “KPop Demon Hunters” that won over young viewers worldwide last year, was written as a pop anthem for a fictional idol group rather than as a children's song.

K-pop boy group NCT Dream poses with Pinkfong’s Red Rex in a promotional image for the group’s collaboration with the children’s entertainment brand. Courtesy of The Pinkfong Company

So far, the industry's answer has largely been collaborations with children's brands, with some idols lending their voices to animation theme songs.

Girl group MOMOLAND's 2019 "Pororo" theme "Banana Cha Cha" set off a wave of cover videos by young children, and ENHYPEN remade "Hey Tayo," the theme of "Tayo the Little Bus," in 2021.

Others have repackaged their own hits. That same year, NCT Dream — Mark included — released an animated version of "Hot Sauce" with Pinkfong, the company behind "Baby Shark," reimagining the members as dinosaur characters dubbed NCT-REX. NewJeans danced alongside Pinkfong and Baby Shark the following year.

The tie-ins have continued. In May, boy band TWS joined Pinkfong for a Children's Day dance challenge set to its song "You, You," while girl group FIFTY FIFTY released a Christmas single last November with Blox Universe, the brand behind British preschool series "Numberblocks."

For both sides, the appeal lies in reach. Children's brands can extend beyond preschoolers to their parents and overseas audiences, while idols gain a point of contact with younger listeners.

A scene from Netflix's animated film "KPop Demon Hunters" / Courtesy of Netflix

Mark's project points in a different direction.

In an episode released Oct. 9, he spent a day with two children at a kids' cafe in Gimpo, Gyeonggi Province, before taking them to a coin karaoke room. When he sang his own song "Too Much," the two kids lost interest quickly because of the English lyrics. Their own picks, including veteran rock band YB's song "A Flying Butterfly" (2006) and the late Kim Kwang-seok's "Where Wind Comes From" (1994), came as surprise to Mark.

The singer later called the outing an "inspiration day," learning that the children listened to more grown-up music than he had expected. "A song a child can sing is a song adults can sing too," he said.

"While collaborations between K-pop artists and children's entertainment brands have been common, it has been rare for artists themselves to create content specifically for children," said a public relations official in the K-pop industry who asked not to be named. "More often, a song released as part of an artist's regular work has happened to become a big hit with young listeners."

"Simple melodies aren't necessarily the answer," the official added. "The key will be to create something that catches on with children while ensuring the content is appropriate for them."

Mark Lee正在通过Upper Room频道上的YouTube系列节目《Mark Lee & Kids-POP》来发展儿童流行音乐。这位前NCT成员在今年4月离开NCT和SM娱乐公司后，于9月推出了该系列节目。每集节目中，他都会与孩子们见面，并从他们的经历中汲取音乐灵感。他表示，这个项目旨在弥补K-pop音乐的一个空白，即歌曲虽然经常被儿童听到，但并非专门为他们创作的。

10 月 9 日播出的 Mark Lee & Kids-POP 节目中，两位孩子在京畿道金浦的一家儿童咖啡馆里，随后又去了一家投币式卡拉 OK 包房。

马克唱《Too Much》的时候，孩子们很快就失去了兴趣，因为歌词是英文的。

孩子们选择了杨炳哲 2006 年的《飞翔的蝴蝶》和金光锡 1994 年的《风从哪里来》。

2021 年，NCT Dream 与 Pinkfong 合作推出了动画版的《Hot Sauce》，将成员们描绘成名为 NCT-REX 的恐龙角色。

K-pop 产业经常与儿童娱乐品牌合作，例如 MOMOLAND 与 Pororo 合作的《Banana Cha Cha》以及 ENHYPEN 与 Hey Tayo 合作的歌曲。

发布于2026年10月19日 上午7:00（韩国标准时间）

更新于2026年10月19日上午9:35（韩国标准时间）

在童谣和偶像流行音乐之间，Mark Lee看到了“儿童流行音乐”的空间。

韩国流行歌曲早已在韩国幼儿园和小学教室里广为流传，但其中很少有歌曲是专门为儿童创作的。前NCT成员Mark Lee表示，他希望通过创作他所谓的“儿童流行歌曲”来填补这一空白。

这个想法最终通过名为“Mark Lee & Kids-POP”的YouTube系列节目得以实现。该系列节目于9月在Upper Room的频道上线，Upper Room是Mark Lee在4月离开男子组合NCT和SM娱乐公司后创立的厂牌。在每一集中，这位加拿大歌手都会与孩子们见面，聆听他们的故事，并从中寻找音乐灵感。

他指出的差距并不陌生。iKON 2018 年的分手歌曲《Love Scenario》不仅登顶韩国年末数字音乐排行榜，还成为幼儿园小朋友的必唱歌曲。

即使是 Netflix 动画电影《K-Pop Demon Hunters》中的歌曲《Golden》，这首曾登上 Billboard Hot 100 排行榜榜首的歌曲，去年赢得了全球年轻观众的喜爱，也是作为一首虚构偶像团体的流行歌曲而创作的，而不是作为一首儿童歌曲。

韩国男团NCT Dream与儿童娱乐品牌Pinkfong的吉祥物Red Rex合影，拍摄了一张宣传照，宣传该组合与该品牌的合作。图片由Pinkfong公司提供。

到目前为止，该行业的应对措施主要是与儿童品牌合作，一些偶像为动画主题曲献声。

2019 年，女子组合 MOMOLAND 的《Pororo》主题曲《Banana Cha Cha》引发了一波儿童翻唱视频的热潮；2021 年，ENHYPEN 翻唱了《小巴士泰路》的主题曲《Hey Tayo》。

其他人则重新包装了自己的热门歌曲。同年，NCT Dream（包括Mark在内）与《Baby Shark》的制作公司Pinkfong合作，推出了动画版的《Hot Sauce》，将成员们重新塑造成名为NCT-REX的恐龙角色。次年，《NewJeans》也与Pinkfong合作，推出了《Baby Shark》的舞蹈版本。

合作仍在继续。今年5月，男子组合TWS与Pinkfong合作，在其歌曲《You, You》的伴奏下，参与了儿童节舞蹈挑战；而女子组合FIFTY FIFTY去年11月则与英国学前系列动画片《数字积木》（Numberblocks）的制作品牌Blox Universe合作，发行了一首圣诞单曲。

对双方而言，吸引力在于覆盖面。儿童品牌可以超越学龄前儿童，触及他们的父母和海外受众，而偶像则能与更年轻的听众建立联系。

Netflix动画电影《K-Pop恶魔猎人》剧照 / 图片由Netflix提供

马克的项目则指向不同的方向。

在10月9日播出的一集中，他先是在京畿道金浦市的一家儿童咖啡馆陪伴两个孩子度过了一天，之后又带他们去了投币式卡拉OK包厢。当他演唱自己的歌曲《Too Much》时，两个孩子因为歌词是英文的而很快就失去了兴趣。而他们自己选择的歌曲，包括老牌摇滚乐队YB的《飞翔的蝴蝶》（2006年）和已故歌手金光石的《风从哪里来》（1994年），都让马克感到惊讶。

这位歌手后来称这次郊游是“一次充满灵感的体验”，因为他发现孩子们听的音乐比他预想的要成熟得多。“孩子能唱的歌，大人也能唱，”他说。

一位不愿透露姓名的韩国流行音乐行业公关人士表示：“虽然韩国流行音乐艺人与儿童娱乐品牌合作很常见，但艺人自己专门为儿童创作内容的情况却很少见。更多时候，是艺人日常工作中发布的歌曲碰巧受到了年轻听众的喜爱。”

“简单的旋律未必是最佳方案，”这位官员补充道，“关键在于创作出既能吸引儿童又能确保内容适合他们的歌曲。”