President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden took South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and his wife Kim Keon-hee on a twilight tour Tuesday of the Korean War Memorial on the National Mall and gave them gifts.
The Bidens are hosting Yoon and Kim for the second state dinner of the administration, which will take place Wednesday evening with a menu of crab cakes, short ribs, butter bean grits and banana splits, and with celebrity guests including actress Angelina Jolie.
Earlier Tuesday, Vice President Kamala Harris gave Yoon a tour of the Goddard Space Center to kick off the South Korean president’s official state visit.
Then Yoon and Kim met up with the Bidens for a somber wreath-laying ceremony in front of the haunting memorial, in which Taps was played.
The couples also met with Judy Wade, the niece of Corporal Luther Story, who was given the Medal of Honor posthumously in 1951 for his valiant actions during the Korean War.
President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden (right) show the Korean War Memorial to South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol (center left) and his wife Kim Keon-hee (left)
Presidents Yoon Suk-yeol and Biden lay a wreath during a visit Tuesday evening to the Korean War Veterans Memorial in Washington
President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden (right) walk through the Korean War Veterans Memorial with South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol (center left) and his wife Kim Keon-hee (left)
The two couples walk toward the Korean War Veterans Memorial, in which statues wearing ponchos walk over what’s supposed to resemble the rice paddies of Korea
Judy Wade (left), with her husband Joseph Wade (second from left), speak with the Bidens, Yoon and Kim about her uncle who received a Medal of Honor for his courage during a Korean war battle. His remains were recently identified after 73 years
During the battle of Yongsan in 1950, Story was credited with killing or wounding an estimated 100 enemy soldiers and kept members of his unit alive by throwing grenades at an enemy truck filled with soldiers and an ammunition trailer.
As his company tried to withdraw, he was wounded and was last seen ‘firing every weapon available’ to hold off another attack, according to his Medal of Honor citation.
Story was considered missing for 73 years until modern technology was able to identify his remains.
Tuesday night’s trip to the Korean War Memorial marks Yoon’s fifth meeting with Biden, as the U.S. president has made cultivating relationships in the Indo-Pacific a priority.
As a gift, the Bidens presented Yoon and Kim with a small table made by an American furniture maker from mahogany and historical White House wood, which was inspired by traditional Korean soban tables.
A brass plaque marking the state visited will be included with the table, as will a vase filled with handmade paper hibiscus and rose flowers, crafted by a Korean-American artist.
Additionally, President Biden gave Yoon a shadow box filled with custom and vintage baseball memorabilia.
Dr. Biden gave Kim a pendant necklace with a trio of blue sapphires designed by a Korean-American designer.
Guest Chef Ed Lee was brought in to design the menu for Wednesday’s state dinner, he worked with first lady Jill Biden on the dishes
On Monday the White House revealed that the menu for the dinner would consist of crab cakes, short ribs, butter bean grits and banana splits.
The ice cream is a special dish for President Joe Biden, who is known for his love of the sweet treat.
About 200 guests are expected for a glamous evening of music, dancing and fine food.
DailyMail.com confirmed Tuesday that among those guests are Jolie and her eldest son Maddox.
‘It’s a busy week,’ Jill Biden said when she previewed the state dinner menu and theme on Monday.
A busy week indeed.
On Tuesday morning, the president announced he was running for reelection and then headed to the Washington Hilton to headline the North America’s Building Trades Unions Conference.
He’ll head back to that property on Saturday with the first lady to attend the annual White House Correspondents’ Association dinner.
But their first formal occasion of the week will be on Wednesday, when they’ll don black tie attire to dance and dine under cherry blossoms in the East Room of the White House.
They’ll dine on American food with a Korean twist. The first lady said her favorite course was the ‘crab cake’ because ‘it’s so American.’
‘But I love them all,’ she said. ‘Joe’s favorite will be the last.’ That is the ice cream for dessert.
The dinner will take place in the East Room of the White House, the largest of the formal rooms on the state floor of the White House.
The menu was designed by Chef Edward Lee, a Korean-American chef who’s known for infusing traditional American classics with Korean flavors.
‘That was the first thing I was told – ice cream,’ he said when he talked about the menu process.
Cherry blossoms tower over the tables for the upcoming state dinner
The table settings use the china from George W. Bush’s presidency
The table settings from the state dinner
Lee, who has appeared on Top Chef and owns restaurants in Washington D.C. and New York, created about a dozen dishes for Jill Biden and her team to try in order to come by the final menu.
‘I wanted to take some of my favorite American foods and just tinker with it a little bit. And this is also how I cook in my restaurants – to just add a little bit of Korean touches to it. Where again, it’s familiar yet unexpected, and it’s not traditional Korean food, but it just gives you a little hint of Korean flavors,’ he said.
He said the first person he told about being asked to be guest chef for the evening was his mom, an immigrant from Korea.
‘We’ve always felt this huge debt of gratitude to the United States of America for the opportunities that they’ve had, that I’ve been able to have. So to come full circle, and to give back and be able to do this was, you know, a very proud moment for me and also for my mom,’ he said.
And as for the advice his mom gave him: ‘She just said don’t mess it up.’
A state visit is the highest diplomatic honor the U.S. reserves for its closest allies. Biden’s first went to France last December and took place in a glass tent on the South Lawn. Wednesday night’s is the first state dinner in the White House.
The first lady and her staff worked with Fête, an event and design firm owned by Korean American Jung Lee, to help create the theme and settings.
White House Executive Pastry Chef Susie Morrison, left, standing with guest Chef Edward Lee, center, and White House Executive Chef Cris Comerford, right, talking about the dinner menu
First lady Jill Biden with (from left) White House Executive Pastry Chef Susie Morrison, White House Executive Chef Cris Comerford, and guest Chef Edward Lee
Cherry blossoms decorate the cross hall of the White House
The decor pays tribute to the 70-year alliance with the Republic of Korea
Jill Biden said the decor was to ‘showcase the harmony of our cultures and our people intertwined.’
When guests enter the East Room, they will see scenic landscape designs that features some of the most American symbols – American Bison, the American Bald Eagle, roses, stars – and Korean images – the Korean magpie and Korean tiger.
The decorations were inspired by the Taegeuk, the symbol in the center of the Republic of Korea flag, which represents balance, harmony, and peace, according to the White House.
And it pays tribute to the 70-year alliance with the Republic of Korea. It includes platinum-colored table linens and flowers that are important to both countries.
But the most dramatic features if the over six-foot tall cherry blossoms that tower over the tables, giving a canopy of pink flowers for the guests to dine under.
‘You have to admit that’s pretty spectacular,’ Jill Biden said of the decor.
The table setting uses the china from President George W Bush’s administration. The plate has a gold eagle in the center. Each napkin has a fresh flower blossom on it.
Some of the tables are made out of teal blue plexiglass, which reflects the cherry blossoms back to the guests.
The bamboo chairs have a blue covering that evoke traditional sumukhwa (Korean ink brush painting). The designs are branches with peonies, representing prosperity and joy, and bamboo elements, representing longevity and strength.
Peonies and the first lady of South Korea’s favorite flowers.
The are smaller vases of flowers as part of the table setting: Peonies, Orchids, Cherry Blossoms, and Azaleas (a native Korean flower). All are pink, red or white. Candles twinkle between the flower arrangements.
The entertainment portion of the evening will consist of Broadway stars Norm Lewis, Lea Salonga and Jessica Vosk performing American musical classics.