Chip and Joanna Gaines recently had the date of a lifetime. The Fixer Upper stars were guests at a White House state dinner celebrating the 70-year alliance between the United States and South Korea.
Joanna Gaines says it was an ‘honor’ to visit the White House
On April 26, the Gaines stepped out in Washington for a dinner hosted by President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden. Joanna donned an elegant, off-the-shoulder black dress, while Chip cleaned up in a stylish suit and tie for the event, which honored South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and First Lady Kim Keon Hee.
“What an honor it was to be a part of tonight’s State Dinner to celebrate the 70-year alliance between the United States of America and my mother’s home country of South Korea,” Joanna shared on Instagram. “Coming off the heels of our incredible trip to Seoul, this evening was another reminder of just how proud I am to be a Korean American.”
Other guests at the dinner included Angelina Jolie and her 21-year-old son Maddox Jolie-Pitt as well as Tony-winning singer and actor Lea Salonga.
The ‘Fixer Upper’ star celebrates her Korean heritage
Chip and Joanna’s White House visit comes on the heels of their visit to South Korea earlier in April. It was a journey to her mother’s homeland the family had long dreamed of taking.
“For years, my mother has talked about taking her three daughters to Seoul, Korea, when the cherry blossoms are in full bloom,” the Magnolia Network personality shared on Instagram. However, Joanna said the dream always felt “just a little out of reach” – until this year.
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“[W]e decided to finally book it, and we convinced 24 members of our family to come with us to visit the place where my mom grew up,” she explained.
During their trip, Chip, Jo, and their kids met family members for the first time, saw the cherry blossoms in bloom, and visited places where Jo’s mother had spent time when she was young.
“In a lot of ways, this trip felt like coming home,” Joanna wrote. “Somehow, connecting with my mom’s past made my own story feel more complete.”
Joanna’s parents met when her father, Jerry, was stationed at a U.S. military base in South Korea in the 1970s. A few months after Jerry returned to the United States, her mom, Nan, followed. They married and eventually settled in Waco, Texas.
Growing up, Joanna did not always embrace her Korean heritage, which she now regrets.
“I don’t know that I ever told you this,” Joanna told her mother in a November 2022 episode of her podcast, The Stories We Tell With Joanna Gaines, “But I always wanted to say I was sorry for living in halfness. And not fully embracing the most beautiful thing about myself, which was you.”
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