• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.16 no.6
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• pp.19-39
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• 2016

Hallyu in East Europe has been spread since the end of the 2000s and contributed to boost the familiarity and favorability of Korea. Hallyu in East Europe started from Romania and Hungary, Korean dramas and K-Pops spread to Bulgaria. Korea and Bulgaria established a diplomatic relations in 1990; however, people of both countries do not share enough information or knowledge on each other. This study aims to understand the meaning of Hallyu and the ways of building cultural relations through Hallyu based on the cognitions and attitudes toward Korea and Korean culture in Bulgaria. It conducted the Focus Group Discussions(FGD) for 24 Sofia residents in their 20s and 30s. The FGD questions were mainly on the level of familiarity and of impacts of Hallyu in Bulgaria. The Hallyu in Bulgaria is still not so popular although Hallyu has been promoted through the diverse activities of Korean Embassy, Sofia University, Korean language institutions, and the Hallyu fans. The economic and cultural impact of the Hallyu is not yet viable in Bulgaria. In order to be recognized as one of the foreign popular culture in Bulgaria, Hallyu should be promoted with various endeavors for Bulgarian people to experience Korean culture beyond Korean drama and K-Pops based on the understanding of socio-cultural characteristics of Bulgaria. Then, Hallyu will be spread by producing Korean dramas, films, and K-pops reflected by local cultural characteristics in Bulgaria and hybridity of Korean popular culture.