Post: #1

I have been chatting up some Romanian girls on facebook and they all seem to really be into Korea. So I was curious and started to do some research and dug this up:

Wikipedia: "According to a local daily newspaper, the first Korean drama was aired on Romanian Television in August 2009 and in the following month, it became the 3rd most popular television program in Romania. By 2010, many other Korean dramas were also aired on national television channels such as TVR1 and TVR1, with some of them attaining the highest TV Ratings among all prime time shows."

Sounds like Korean pop culture is big in Romania. Can anyone there attest to this?

Post: #2

I can't directly attest to Romania, but K-pop has increasingly become some sort of an international phenomenon (look up the Wikipedia article for K-pop; there's a bit of information there), so you can find pockets of K-pop niche fans throughout the world now.

It does spark my curiosity, however, that K-pop grew to an extent of "attaining the highest TV Ratings among all prime time shows", but hey, Gangnam Style holds the number one spot on YouTube by a HUGE margin away from Bieber's number two spot, so perhaps this ain't too surprising.

Post: #3

Truth be told, I have no idea what Korean pop might be like, but I do love Gangnam Style (and some other PSY's singles). I might check it out some of their movies or shows if I can find subtitles.

Post: #4

I have just been in Romania for two weeks, and haven't noticed anything to do with K-pop. Not to say it isn't there, but it isn't a big deal and the Romanians I met didn't mention anything about it.

On a random note, if you plan to stay in Romania, I wouldn't recommend Bucharest. Don't make the same mistake I did and spend too long there, the smaller towns and cities are much nicer. I struggled to get my Romanian flag, but managed on the 3rd last night...

Post: #5

To keep it short - No. I am Romanian, I live in Romania. We do like Korean electronics and some cars though

Post: #6

Heard that Kpop has made some inroads in certain non-Asian countries (France, Morocco) in addition to all of Asia but never heard that korean cultural items were big in Romania. Nice heads up dontuan, gonna have to investigate further.

Post: #7

Kpop has only small pockets of fans in countries outsise of Korea, and it's usually only among young girls under 20 who were introduced to it through a Korean exchange student who's obsession with it was highly infectious.

Post: #8

K-pop no.
Korean dramas, yes to some extent. As a couple of TV stations broadcast them and it's a new and interesting thing for the TV watching demographics. But that's about it. You won't hear any korean song playing in any club literally anywhere in the country.

Hope that answered your question )

Post: #9

I've watched some seriously good movies out of Korea on Netflix. Some of the songs are pretty good for the club too - and you can't deny the hotness factor of the women in their music videos.

In my opinion, the influence of Korean pop culture on the international scene is only going to get bigger.

Beyond All Seas

"The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe.
To be your own man is a hard business. If you try it, you'll be lonely often, and sometimes
frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself." - Kipling