On the A-list: Tennis great Billie Jean King; Candy Crowley; Scott Pelley; actor John Cho...Sec. Vilsack brings American Farm Bureau chief as his date, and chef David Chang is invited to eat rather than cook...President Obama and First Lady Obama invited 222 guests to the 8:35 PM State Dinner in honor of President Lee Myung-bak of the Republic of Korea. They arrived at the White House between six and seven in the evening, just as a violent storm that included thunder, lightning and a drenching rain was ending. The guest list was low on Hollywood invitees, unlike other State Dinners. One guest of major interest: Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, above, brought brought Bob Stallman, president of the American Farm Bureau, as his "date," rather than his wife, Christie Vilsack. The newly ratified US Korea Free Trade Agreement is being hailed as a billion dollar boon for US agriculture, and Vilsack and Stallman were crucial to getting it passed through Congress. Dinner was a Fall Harvest menu starring Texas Wagyu Beef. The US is the largest beef producer in the world, and the free trade agreement opens up Korea's high-value market, after years of high tariffs and restrictions related to Mad Cow disease. (Above: Vilsack arrives in the Booksellers entrance in the East Wing)
The Guest Arrivals Report from Booksellers is here. It includes video.
Guests included tennis legend Billie Jean King, chef David Chang of New York's Momofuku and other eateries; actor John Cho, best known for his roles in the Harold and Kumar movies, which also starred former White House aid Kal Penn; designer Christina Kim; Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg, who recently hosted a fundraiser for the President; and a handful of notable media faces: ABC’s JuJu Chang, CNN’s Candy Crowley, and CBS’s Scott Pelley.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon was invited, as was Ambassador Sung Kim, the first Korean-American ambassador to the Republic of Korea, confirmed by the Senate today.
Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg attended, as did a handful of Cabinet Secretaries including Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Housing Secretary Shaun Donovan, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta.
Singer Janelle Monáe, and all three members of The Ahn Trio, a classical music group, were invited to dine before they were the featured musical performers at the 10:00 PM post-dinner reception, held in the State Dining Room.
State Dinner Guest List
THE PRESIDENT and MRS. OBAMA
His Excellency Lee Myung-bak, President of the Republic of Korea
Mrs. Kim Yoon-ok
Mr. Charles C. Adams, Jr., Geneva, Switzerland
Mrs. Vera Risteski-Adams
Ms. Angella Ahn, Performer, Bozeman, MT
Mr. Michael P. Moore
Ms. Lucia Ahn, Performer, New York, NY
Mr. Christiaan P. Ahn
Ms. Maria Ahn, Performer, New York, NY
Ms. Young Joo Rhee, Cliffside Park, NJ
The Honorable Brooke Anderson, Washington, DC
His Excellency Jae Hyun Bae
His Excellency Jaewan Bahk
Secretary-General Ki-moon Ban, Secretary General, United Nations, New York, NY
Mrs. Soon-taek Ban
The Honorable Max Baucus, United States Senator
Ms. Melodee Hanes
The Honorable Howard Berman, United States Representative
Mrs. Janis Berman
Mr. James B. Biden, Merion Station, PA
Mrs. Sara Biden
The Honorable Joseph R. Biden, Jr., Vice President of the United States
Dr. Jill Biden
The Honorable Stephen Warren Bosworth, Medford, MA
Mrs. Christine H Bosworth
The Honorable Ann W. Brown, Washington, DC
Mr. Don Brown
The Honorable William J Burns, Deputy Secretary of State, U.S. Department of State
Ms. Lisa Carty
The Honorable Dave Camp, United States Representative
Mrs. Nancy Camp
The Honorable Kurt M Campbell, Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian & Pacific Affairs
The Honorable Lael Brainard, Under Secretary of the Treasury for International Affairs
The Honorable Jay Carney, Press Secretary
Ms. Claire Shipman
The Honorable Julián Castro, Mayor, San Antonio, TX
Mrs. Erica Lira Castro
Mr. David Chang, New York, NY
Ms. Chung Hi Chang, Howey-in-the-Hills, FL
Ms. JuJu Chang, New York, NY
Mr. Neal Shapiro
Mr. John Cho, Los Angeles, CA
Mr. June Jay Cho, San Antonio, TX
His Excellency Guem Nak Choe
His Excellency Joong-Kyung Choi
Mr. Steve Choi, President, Founder and CEO, Korean-American Association, Annandale, VA
Mrs. Leena Prisca Choi
The Honorable Judy Chu, United States Representative
The Honorable Mike Eng, California State Assembly, Sacramento, CA
His Excellency Yungwoo Chun
The Honorable Hillary R. Clinton, Secretary of State
Mr. Bruce Cohen, New York, NY
Mr. Gabriel Catone
Mr. Jeff Cooper, Edwardsville, IL
Mrs. Francesca Moroney Cooper
Rev Luis Cortes, Jr., Cheltenham, PA
Mrs. Damaris Cortes
Ms. Candy Crowley, Bethesda, MD
Mr. Harry Michael Rosselli, Washington, DC
The Honorable Stephanie Cutter, Assistant to the President and Deputy Senior Advisor
Mr. James Matthew Hock
The Honorable William Daley, Chief of Staff
Ms. Bernadette Keller
Mr. D. Scott Davis, Chairman and CEO, UPS, Atlanta, GA
General Martin Dempsey, Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff
Mrs. Deanie Dempsey
The Honorable Thomas Donilon, Assistant to the President, National Security Advisor
Ms. Cathy Russell, Chief of Staff to Dr. Jill Biden
The Honorable Shaun L.S. Donovan, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
Ms. Liza Gilbert
Mr. Blair Effron, New York, NY
Mrs. Cheryl Effron
The Honorable Michael B.G. Froman, Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Advisor for International Economic Affairs
Ms. Nancy Goodman
Mr. Robert L. Gallucci, PhD, Chicago, IL
Ms. Jennifer Emily Sims, Upperville, VA
The Honorable Timothy F. Geithner, Secretary of the Treasury
Mrs. Carole Geithner
Mr. Sloan Gibson, Charleston, SC
Mrs. Margaret Duncan Gibson
The Honorable Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Washington, DC
Dr. Douglas Edward Goldman, San Francisco, CA
Mrs. Lisa Goldman
The Honorable Steve Jay Green, Miami Beach, FL
Mrs. Dorothea Green
The Honorable Duck-soo Han, Ambassador to the U.S., Government of the Republic of Korea
Mrs. Ah-Young Choi
The Honorable Orrin G. Hatch, United States Senator
Mrs. Elaine Hatch
Mr. William Hite, President's Export Council, Annapolis, MD
Mrs. Patricia Hite
The Honorable Thomas C. Hubbard, Washington, DC
Mrs. Joan Magnusson Hubbard
Mr. Changsoo Huh, Special Delegation, Republic of Korea
The Honorable Valerie Jarrett, Assistant to the President and Senior Advisor
Mr. Elvin Charity, Chicago, IL
Mr. Henry H Kang, Douglas, MA
Ms. Cassi Bryn Michaelik
The Honorable Sukhee Kang, Mayor, Irvine, CA
Mrs. Joanne Wonhee Kang
The Honorable Mark Keam, VA House of Delegates, Vienna, VA
Mrs. Alex Seong Keam
The Honorable John Kerry, United States Senator
Mr. Fred Khosravi, Mountain View, CA
Mrs. Flora Khosravi
Ms. Christina Kim, Los Angeles, CA
Mr. Raymond Meier, New York, NY
His Excellency Dae Ki Kim
Mr. Chang-beom Kim
Mr. David Kim, Entrepreneur, C2 Education, Duluth, GA
Ms. Minjae Yuh
Dr. James Yong Kim, President, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH
Dr. Youn Sook Lim
His Excellency Kwan Jin Kim
His Excellency Sung-hwan Kim
Dr. Tae Hyo Kim
Ms. Billie Jean King, New York, NY
Ms. Llana Kloss
Mr. Robert Thompson King, Ann Arbor, MI
Ms. Kathlene Eugenie King
The Honorable Ron Kirk, USTR
Mrs. Matrice Ellis-Kirk
Mr. Harold Koh, Washington, DC
Ms. Mary-Christy Fisher
The Honorable Howard Kyongju Koh, Washington, DC
Ms. Claudia Anne Arrigg
Mr. Bon Moo Koo, Chairman of LG
Mr. Chris Korge, Coral Gables, FL
Mr. Andrew Korge
Mr. Peter Kraus, Dallas, TX
Mrs. Lisa Kraus
Mr. Peter Kwon, Washington, DC
Mrs. Jeanie Kwon
The Honorable Jim Leach, Chairman, National Endowment for the Humanities, Bethesda, MD
Mrs. Elisabeth Leach
Mr. John Lechleiter, Indianapolis, IN
Mrs. Sarah Lechleiter
Dr. Chang-rae Lee, Princeton, NJ
Mrs. Michelle Branca Lee
Ms. Seung Yun Lee, Daughter of Korean President Lee
Mr. Won Lee, Washington, DC
Mrs. Young Ja Lee
The Honorable Sander Levin, United States Representative
Ms. Pamela Marie Cole
Mr. James E. Liguori, Wyoming, DE
Mrs. Stephanie I. Liguori
Mr. Andres W. Lopez, San Juan, PR
Ms. Camelia Garrido
The Honorable Richard Lugar, United States Senator
Ms. Deb Lugar
The Honorable Capricia Penavic Marshall, Chief of Protocol, U.S. Department of State
Dr. Robert Marshall
Mr. John P. Marttila, Boston, MA
Mrs. Nancy Ellen Marttila
Ms. Linda Mason, Manager, Bright Horizons Family Solutions, Belmont, MA
Mr. Roger H Brown, President of Berklee College of Music
The Honorable Denis McDonough, Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Advisor
Mrs. Karin McDonough
Ms. Janelle Monáe, Performer
Mr. Nathaniel Irvin
Mr. Alan Mulally, President and CEO, Ford Motor Company, Dearborn, MI
Mrs. Nicki Mulally
Mr. Scott A. Nathan, Boston, MA
Ms. Laura A. Debonis
Mr. Mark Nichols, Washington, DC
Ms. Jane Siena
The Honorable Thomas Nides, Dep. Secretary of State for Management and Resources
Ms. Virginia Moseley
Mr. Spencer Arthur Overton, Professor of Law, GW Law School, Chevy Chase, MD
Mrs. Leslie Collins Overton
The Honorable Leon E Panetta, Secretary of Defense
Mr. Deven J. Parekh, New York, NY
Mrs. Monika Parekh
Mr. Scott Pelley, Darien, CT
Mrs. Jane Boone Pelley
The Honorable Nancy Pelosi, Democratic Leader, United States Representative
Mr. Paul Pelosi, Jr.
The Honorable David Plouffe, Assistant to the President and Senior Advisor
Ms. Olivia Morgan
Dr. Peter M. Rhee, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
Mrs. Emily Rhee
The Honorable Susan Rice, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, New York, NY
Mr. Ian Cameron
Ms. Carla A. Robbins, New York, NY
Mr. Guy B. Gugliotta
Mr. Lee Rosenberg, President, American Israel Public Affairs Committee, Chicago, IL
Mrs. Nancy Rosenberg
The Honorable Pete Rouse, Counselor to the President, Washington, DC
Ms. Courtney M. Chapin
The Honorable Kathryn Ruemmler, Assistant to the President and Counsel to the President
Mr. Danny Russel, Chevy Chase, MD
Mrs. Keiko Abo Russel
Mr. Jin Roy Ryu, Los Angeles, CA
Ms. Helen Lho
Ms. Sheryl Kara Sandberg, Chief Operating Officer, Facebook, Palo Alto, CA
Ms. Adele Frances Einhorn Sandberg, North Miami Beach, FL
Mrs. Elaine Schuster, Osterville, MA
Gerald Schuster
Mr. Sydney A. Seiler, Director for Korea, NSS, Washington, DC
Mr. Eugene Sepulveda, Austin, TX
Ms. Suzanne Deal Booth
Mr. Paull Shin, Washington State Senator, Lynwood, WA
Mrs. Donna Shin
Mr. Kyung-shik Sohn
Ms. Unmi Song, Skokie, IL
Ms. Unhae U. Song, Washington, DC
Mr. Bobby Stein, Jacksonville, FL
Mrs. Mary C. Stein
The Honorable Kathleen Stephens, Ambassador to the Republic of Korea
William C. Harwood, Emeryville, CA
The Honorable Ann S Stock, Acting Undersecretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs
Mr. Stuart C Stock
Ms. Kathy Surace-Smith, Bellevue, WA
Mr. Brad Smith
Ms. Nancy Helen Sutley, Washington, DC
Mrs. Suzanne Beatrice Sutley, Jackson Heights, NY
The Honorable Tina Tchen, Chief of Staff, Office of the First Lady
General James D. Thurman, Commander UNC/CFC/USFK, Department of Defense
Mrs. Delia Lee Thurman
The Honorable Melanne Verveer, Ambassador at Large for Women's Global Issues, Department of State
The Honorable Philip Louis Verveer
The Honorable Tom Vilsack, Secretary, Department of Agriculture
Mr. Bob Stallman
Ms. Jai Lee Wong, Executive Director, Women's Leadership Circles, Los Angeles, CA
Mr. Kent Douglas Wong