Seoul Botanic Park in the capital's Gangseo-gu District from Aug. 18-20 will hold the summer event "The Scent of Green Papaya" themed on Vietnam. Shown is the park's Botanic Center at night.

By Park Hye Ri
Photos = Seoul Botanic Park

Seoul Botanic Park in the capital's Gangseo-gu District will host this weekend an event highlighting the appeal of Vietnamese culture.

The park's management on Aug. 17 said "The Scent of Green Papaya," a summer event whose theme is Vietnam, will run from Aug. 18-20 at the facility's outdoor area and greenhouse.

The event is named after the eponymous 1994 Vietnamese film that snagged the Southeast Asian country's first and only nomination for an Academy Award, namely Best Foreign Language Film. From Aug. 19-20, the festival will screen the movie three times a day every two hours from 2 p.m. at the Book Lounge on the first floor of Botanic Center.

A flea market on the center's first floor from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. will sell handicrafts, food ingredients and vegan products related to Vietnam.

Soyul, author of the travel essay "Therefore, Vietnam," on Aug. 19 will hold a book concert at 3 p.m. at Botanic Hall on the center's second floor to share his episodes in small Vietnamese cities. Reservations are available on the Seoul Metropolitan Government's public reservation system: https://yeyak.seoul.go.kr.

The market street on the center's first floor will host a program for making the traditional Vietnamese hat non la. Other interactive events will have visitors make lotus lanterns and chuon chuon tre, or a toy looks like a dragonfly and made from bamboo, and play the game da cau, which is similar to Korea's jegichagi (kicking a shuttlecock).

"We hope you have a refreshing experience at the exhibition greenhouse of Seoul Botanic Park to feel like you're traveling abroad," the park's director Kim Dae-seong said. "We will present a Seoul Botanic Garden featuring new pleasures every time you visit through events, exhibitions and lectures on the themes of plants and culture every season."

Interior of greenhouse room at Seoul Botanic Park

This is the official poster for the Aug. 18-20 summer event "The Scent of Green Papaya" at Seoul Botanic Park in the capital's Gangseo-gu District.