Actor Angelina Jolie, home improvement duo Chip and Joanna Gaines, and Olympic snowboarder Chloe Kim headlined the list of big names from politics, business, sports and entertainment glamming up a fancy black-tie dinner that US President Joe Biden on Wednesday hosted for South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol.
Broadway musical star Lea Salonga, one of the night’s entertainers, confessed as she arrived that she was “freaking out” over the whole experience, saying: “It feels like being in the middle of a fairy tale.”
Kim served up a classic understatement as she strolled in, telling reporters: ”I heard the food’s going to be very good.”
Photo: REUTERS
Jolie was not inclined to chat, but her date, 21-year-old son Maddox, at least offered that his favorite thing about Seoul was “the people.”
A smattering of politicians made the guest list, too, and most were determinedly on message, talking a lot of shop.
US Senator Tammy Duckworth held forth on infrastructure, debt reduction and the budget.
.Photo: AFP
US Representative Judy Chu (趙美心) talked about abortion rights.
Former US secretary of commerce Penny Pritzker, a big Democratic donor from Illinois, talked up plans for the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in 2024, saying that “of course” it would go well.
US Senator Mazie Hirono proudly showed off her traditional hanbok gown, saying it was important to showcase cultural diversity.
She added that the big challenge was “not to trip over it.”
Also among the nearly 200 guests were Arthur Blank, a cofounder of Home Depot; Pachinko author Min Jin Lee; and former Major League Baseball pitcher Chan Ho Park.
US Senator Mitt Romney also attended, as did the governors of Delaware, New Jersey and Vermont.
On a perfect spring evening, guests entered the White House by strolling through the Jacqueline Kennedy Garden in the East Wing and being directed to a cocktail reception before dinner in the East Room, where tables were topped with towering centerpieces of cherry tree boughs in full bloom.
While most guests were strolling in through the garden, Biden and his wife, Jill Biden, welcomed Yoon and his wife, Kim Keon-hee, on a red carpet on the steps of the North Portico, where the US president flashed a thumbs-up for the assembled cameras.
In their toasts before dinner, Joe Biden said he believed Yoon’s visit had “brought two nations even closer together.”
Yoon, for his part, nodded to Joe Biden’s Irish heritage and love of Irish poets.
“There’s an old saying, and Mister President, this one is also Irish, that goes: A good friend is like a four-leaf clover, hard to find and lucky to have,” Yoon said, offering a toast to the “ironclad alliance” between South Korea and the US.
Guests seated at the head table with the presidents and first ladies included Jolie and her son, the Gaineses, US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Chloe Kim.
The US first lady, who oversaw planning for the administration’s second state dinner, recruited Korean-American celebrity chef Edward Lee to whip up a Korean-inspired menu.
Lee is known for putting his Korean stamp on US food.
“It’s not traditional Korean food, but just gives you a little hint of Korean flavors,” he said this week as the White House previewed the dinner setup.
Guests were ushered to the State Dining Room at the other end of the State Floor after dinner for entertainment by Salonga and fellow Broadway stars Norm Lewis and Jessica Vosk.
Lewis, for all his experience, said he still gets nervous performing at big events.
“Oh God, always nerves,” he said. “But you know what? It’s for a good cause and I’m very excited to be here.”
He sang This Is The Moment from Jekyll and Hyde.
One guest who displayed not one ounce of nerves was Schumer, a Democrat from New York, who wore a business suit rather than a tuxedo.
“This is as tux-ey as I get,” he said with a shrug.
Chip Gaines demurred when asked if he had any decorating tips for the White House, but added that for wife, Joanna, “the white interior and exterior is just her thing.”
Joanna Gaines’ mother is Korean.
A state visit, including an arrival ceremony on the South Lawn and a sparkly state dinner, is the highest diplomatic honor the US bestows on its closest allies.
Yoon was visiting as the US and South Korea mark the 70th year of an alliance that began at the end of the Korean War and committed the US to help South Korea defend itself, particularly from North Korea. Approximately 28,500 US troops are based in South Korea.
Joe Biden’s first invitation for a state visit went to France last year, and French President Emmanuel Macron was toasted at a black-tie dinner in December last year with more than 300 guests inside a heated pavilion on the south grounds of the White House.
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