호라 돌핀

Hoh-rah Dol-phin

This meme began gaining popularity among the younger generation in the late 2010s. It particularly started trending significantly as background music on short-form video platforms like Shorts, TikTok, and Bilibili around 2025.

'Hora Dolphin' is a meme derived from a phrase in the song '街のドルフィン (Machi no Dolphin, Dolphin of the City)' released in 1982 by Japanese singer-songwriter Kingo Hamada. The song metaphorically expresses freedom from daily life, youthful adventure, and the liberation of the night through the fantastical image of a dolphin in an 80s city. When used as a meme, it primarily utilizes the climax section where the lyrics "Hora Dolphin" are repeated, which appears after the second verse (around 2 minutes and 39 seconds into the song). This phrase means "Look, it's a dolphin."

It is primarily consumed by the younger generation who actively use short-form video platforms since the late 2010s, especially those aged between their teens and 30s.

It is mainly used as background music on short-form video platforms. In Korea, in particular, this meme is frequently used in animal-related Shorts videos. For example, the climax part of 'Hora Dolphin' is inserted into videos featuring cute animals to create a cheerful and mysterious atmosphere.