Seoul's Oullim Square turned into a mini world tour on October 9, when the city hosted the second Better Together Seoul Culture & Wellness Festival. Among the stands, Vietnam's booth — run by the Vietnamese Women's Association in the RoK — drew crowds with racks of flowing áo dài, conical nón lá hats, handicrafts and displays of Vietnamese folk culture.
The festival, organised by the Seoul Foreign Resident Centre, is designed to help the Korean capital's large international community feel at home. It mixes practical support with fun: lifestyle and information consultations for foreigners, K-beauty experiences, fitness assessments and health advice, all alongside chances to explore Korean traditions and other cultures. Nguyễn Thị Thái Bình, Minister Counsellor at the Vietnamese Embassy, attended along with diplomats and members of Seoul's international community.
Culture was front and centre on stage too. Performances ranged from the gayageum — the traditional Korean zither — to K-pop numbers and Taekwondo demonstrations, giving visitors a compact taste of Korea's heritage alongside the international booths.
For Vietnam, the booth was more than a display. Embassy representatives joined association members to present it, part of a broader effort to support overseas Vietnamese communities in keeping their culture alive while building people-to-people ties between Vietnam and Korea. With well over a hundred thousand Vietnamese living in Korea and travel between the two countries booming, these cultural showcases double as soft introductions for anyone curious about visiting.
Why should a traveller care? If you're heading to Seoul, events like this reveal a side of the city most tourists miss — a genuinely multicultural scene where you can sample Vietnamese craft traditions and Korean wellness culture in a single afternoon. And if Korea sparks an interest in Southeast Asia, the Vietnam booth is a reminder of how easy it is to pair the two: direct flights link Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang with Seoul daily, and Vietnam is one of the most affordable and rewarding add-on destinations in Asia.
The festival's wider goal is an open society that respects cultural diversity and strengthens community bonds — a good excuse, if you needed one, to look beyond palaces and markets on your next Seoul trip.
