Korean Cultural Products in Eastern Europe: A Case Study of the K-Pop Impact in Romania

This article presents the findings of a research project about the impact of Korean musical products and representations of Korea Romanian fans’ perceptions about the country. This research project conceives of Romanian fans of K-Pop as a distinct segment of the population and outlines certain prevalent characteristics of individuals belonging to this group. It also demonstrates the influence of Korean popular culture products on Romanian K-Pop fans’ assessments of Korea’s culture and society. The data stresses that “hybridity” and “globalism” are the traits most important to the success of K-Pop both in Asia and Eastern Europe as demonstrated in the case of Romania. At the same time, K-Pop fans understand Korean music as a “gateway” not only into Korean culture but also into familiarity with Korean language and society. The results also reveal a parallel between images exported by Korean cultural products in Romania and Romanians’ conception of Korean society and people.