K-pop in Hungary is no longer just a teenage trend: it is becoming a cultural movement – interview
K-pop in Hungary has moved far beyond fan playlists and dance covers. What began as a niche passion among teenagers has grown into a vibrant community that leads young Hungarians towards Korean language, food, fashion, travel and even performance. In an interview with Daily News Hungary, Yu Hye Ryong, Director of the Korean Cultural Center in Hungary, explains why Hungarian fans stand out in Europe, how Budapest is becoming a stage for local K-pop talent, and why parents might want to look beyond the glitter, choreography and screaming crowds. Exclusive interview:
K-pop in Hungary: development és character
Daily News Hungary (DNH): How has the popularity of K-pop changed in Hungary in recent years?
Yu Hye Ryong:In the late 2010s, when K-pop was still relatively new in Hungary, the scene was largely driven by teenagers and young adults, particularly fans of groups such as BTS and BLACKPINK. At the time, K-pop was consumed primarily through fan communities, with a strong focus on music and choreography.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, live performances were understandably affected, but online consumption of K-pop actually grew. The spread of short-form video content through platforms such as TikTok and YouTube Shorts made K-pop much more accessible and significantly lowered the barrier to discovering it.
Over the past few years, K-pop has developed into a much more mainstream cultural phenomenon in Hungary, with the audience growing to a point where large-scale offline events are now possible. For example, at MOKKOJI KOREA at Budapest Park in 2024, SUNMI, AB6IX and Dreamcatcher performed in Hungary for the first time. The event was free of charge, yet demand was so high that advance registration was required.
What is particularly interesting is that people are no longer consuming K-pop simply as a form of music or as individual concerts. Their interest often expands in a chain: K-pop → K-dance → K-beauty → Korean language → K-food → travel to Korea.
DNH: Why is K-pop particularly appealing to young people in Hungary? Who are the most active fans today, and is the fan base continuing to grow?
Yu Hye Ryong:One of the great strengths of K-pop is that it is not a form of content that is complete with music alone. Music, choreography, fashion, visual content, performance, the artists’ stories and fan communities all come together to create a much broader experience.
K-pop is also a culture that is easy to participate in. People do not simply listen to the music. They learn the choreography, learn the Korean lyrics and sing along, create cover videos, or form teams with friends and perform together.
From the participants we meet through our cultural centre’s programmes, teenagers and young adults are still the most active fan group. At the same time, however, the range of people interested in Korean culture is gradually expanding.
We often see people who first discovered Korea through K-pop several years ago now learning Korean, travelling to Korea, or becoming interested in Korean films, food and other aspects of Korean culture.
Ultimately, K-pop fans do not remain simply consumers of content. I think one of the most important strengths of K-pop is that it encourages people to learn about the culture they love, express themselves through it, and experience it together with others.
If you missed it: Nearly 17,000 visitors attended Korea Days – 7th KoreaON Festival on Margaret Island in Budapest – photos
DNH: Does the K-pop community in Hungary have any characteristics that distinguish it from those in other European countries?
Yu Hye Ryong:What I find particularly impressive in Hungary is the high level of participation and the strong sense of community among fans.
Hungary is not a particularly large country in terms of population, but people who are passionate about K-pop are extremely active. They form their own dance teams, practice and perform together, participate in competitions and cultural events, and regularly take part in programmes organised by our cultural centre.
We often see people who meet through one programme coming back to participate in another, forming new teams together or supporting each other’s activities.
So it goes beyond simply sharing a love of the same music. A genuine community naturally develops around that shared interest.
We consider this kind of participation very important. We believe that meaningful cultural exchange happens at a much deeper level when people do not simply watch or consume another culture, but actually learn it, practice it and create something together.
K-pop: the gateway to discovering Korea
DNH: Does interest in K-pop also lead to interest in other aspects of Korean culture, such as fashion, the Korean language, food, film, tourism and traditional culture?
Yu Hye Ryong:Yes. This is something we see very frequently through our work at the cultural centre.
For many people, K-pop serves as a kind of gateway through which they first discover Korea. They may become interested in Korean because they want to understand the lyrics of their favorite songs. Then they start watching Korean films or dramas, trying Korean food, or planning a trip to Korea. Their interests naturally expand from one area to another.
Fashion and beauty are another example. People may become interested in the fashion or makeup styles of K-pop artists and then think, “I would like to try that myself.”
The Korean language is a particularly good example. The natural desire to sing along to a favorite song can lead to an interest in Hangul and Korean pronunciation, and eventually become the motivation to actually study Korean.
In other words, the boundaries between the K-pop fandom and the broader Korean Wave fandom are relatively fluid. People who initially come to K-pop do not necessarily remain interested in K-pop alone. They often develop an interest in Korean dramas, food, language, travel, products and Korean culture more broadly.
What is particularly interesting is that this interest does not necessarily stop with contemporary culture. We have visitors who first come to the cultural centre because of K-pop and later participate in Korean language classes, Korean food programmes, film screenings, traditional music or traditional dance programmes.
That is why we do not see K-pop and traditional culture as separate worlds. K-pop can be the first door through which people discover Korea, but it does not have to be the last.
DNH: What role does K-pop play in the activities of the Korean Cultural Center in Hungary?
Yu Hye Ryong:K-pop is one of the important areas of our cultural centre’s activities. However, our goal is not simply to introduce popular K-pop content or bring performances to audiences. What matters to us is using K-pop as a way to encourage people to experience Korean culture directly and become active participants in it.
Through our K-POP Academy, we regularly offer K-pop dance classes. We also invite choreographers and other professionals working in Korea to conduct special workshops, giving Hungarian participants the opportunity to learn directly from and interact with professionals working in the K-pop industry.
Last October, we also hosted the Hungarian preliminary round of the Changwon K-POP World Festival with MondoCON. Through this programme, local participants have the opportunity to showcase their skills and challenge themselves on an international K-pop stage.
More recently, we have taken this one step further by focusing on the creation of original content planned by the cultural centre and made together with local participants.
Two examples are KCC IDOL and K-POP SINGERS. KCC IDOL is designed to allow participants to experience the entire process together — from practicing and building teamwork to preparing for and performing on stage. K-POP SINGERS expands the focus beyond dance to singing, allowing participants to learn and practice Korean songs and experience the process of recording and performing.
If I had to describe our approach in one sentence, it would be: “From audience to participant, and from participant to performer and creator.”
This year, we are taking this approach even further with a project called K-POP in Budapest. Local K-pop singers and dancers will practice together and perform in Budapest, while the entire journey — from preparation to the final performance — will be captured on film and produced as a music film centered around busking.
Rather than simply producing a promotional video introducing K-pop, we wanted to create something in which the people who actually love and practice K-pop in Hungary become the protagonists, and Budapest itself becomes the stage.
We believe that when people in Hungary take K-pop created in Korea and reinterpret it through their own city and their own experiences, creating new stories in the process, that itself can be a meaningful form of cultural exchange.
Read also: 6th DAESANG Eat and Travel Film Festival happened in Budapest as its First Edition in Europe
K-pop events in Hungary
DNH: Which K-pop programmes and events are currently the most popular in Hungary? Are there any special events people can look forward to this year?
Yu Hye Ryong:Interest in K-pop dance remains extremely high. There is a steady demand for dance classes, cover dance activities and workshops with professional choreographers, and our K-POP Academy continues to offer regular programmes.
At the same time, the ways in which people enjoy K-pop are not limited to dance. Many people also want to sing Korean songs themselves, so we are expanding opportunities for participation in the vocal field through programmes such as K-POP SINGERS.
In particular, we want to create programmes in which participants do more than simply attend an event for a day. We want them to experience a process together over a period of time: learning a song or choreography, practising together, recording and filming, and ultimately performing in front of an audience.
Through this process, participants are no longer simply spectators. They become the protagonists of the programme.
Our K-POP in Budapest project this year is a good example of this approach. Local participants will prepare their own K-pop performances, take part in busking performances and filming in Budapest, and have the entire process and final performance captured as a music film.
Going forward, we want to continue expanding opportunities for people not simply to watch K-pop, but to learn it, create together and express themselves on stage.
Detailed information about our programmes and events is available through the Korean Cultural Center in Hungary’s official website and social media channels.
DNH: What are some common misconceptions among people who are unfamiliar with K-pop? What would you say to Hungarian parents who see K-pop simply as a teenage trend?
Yu Hye Ryong:For people who are not familiar with K-pop, the first things they may notice are the spectacular performances and the enthusiastic young fans. So it is understandable that they might see it simply as a form of popular culture that happens to be fashionable among teenagers.
Of course, K-pop is popular culture, and trends inevitably change. But when we meet young participants directly, what interests us is not only what they are listening to, but what they are doing because they love it.
They learn a new language because they want to understand the lyrics of their favorite songs. They practice for hours and sometimes for months to perfect a piece of choreography or a song. They learn how to work with teammates, overcome the nervousness of performing on stage, make new friends and gain confidence.
For some, K-pop becomes the starting point for studying Korean or developing an interest in Korean food, films, history and society — and eventually even visiting Korea themselves.
So if their children are interested in K-pop, I would encourage parents to look not only at what their children are watching and listening to, but also at what they are learning and creating through that interest.
Interests naturally change as young people grow older. But the confidence they gain on stage, the discipline they develop through repeated practice, the ability to cooperate with others, and their curiosity about a new language and culture can stay with them for much longer.
K-pop can be the first door through which someone encounters Korea. I believe the role of a cultural centre is to help people who enter through that first door discover all the many other doors that lie beyond it.
Read our exclusive interview – South Korean Ambassador: Hungary is no longer just an investment destination; it’s a strategic innovation partner
Daily News Hungary is the official media partner of the Korean Cultural Centre in Hungary.
