East Asia and Bulgaria

In the perceptions of the average Bulgarian, East Asia is a rather amorphous and very vague notion. What exactly distinguishes Eastern, Southern and Southeast Asia - concepts that are well defined in the world's geopolitical and economic literature are actually pretty unknown here. What is the relationship of East Asia with Bulgaria and can we talk about the existence of any relationship? What is the interest of Bulgaria in the countries of East Asia and vice versa - do these countries have an interest in a small Balkan country that has gained its national independence only in the last quarter of the 19th century. One resource-poor country, following the idea of catching-up modernization,whose political life characterized by frequent crises and instability. How and with what does the region of East Asia become relevant to world politics and how does it gets the attention of Bulgaria? What is the position of the East Asian region in the common Bulgarian foreign policy in the different stages of its development in the XX and the beginning of the 21st century? This study is devoted to some important aspects of the historical and modern development of East Asia and the relations between Bulgaria and the countries of this part of the Asian continent.