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WASHINGTON — Hemlines were soaked and raindrops spattered tuxedos, but not even a thunderous downpour could dampen the excitement of guests flocking to perhaps the most exclusive social event on Washington's fall calendar: a White House state dinner for South Korean President Lee Myung-bak.
"I love the rain. They don't have rain in Arizona," said Dr. Peter Rhee, the trauma surgeon who treated Rep. Gabrielle Giffords after she was shot in the head earlier this year.
"So much for the hair salon," said ABC News correspondent Juju Chang, holding up the floppy ends of her dark locks.
Even President Barack Obama took note of the soggy weather as he marveled at the intense day of diplomacy that took Lee from the White House to the Capitol and back again. "He's had a very busy day — and a very wet day," Obama said.
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A driving rain began just as guests started to arrive for Thursday's opulent East Room extravaganza, soaking many of the guests and their finery as they waited in line to come in from the storm.
Hemlines on many of the floor-length gowns were visibly wet. Raindrops dotted tuxedo sleeves and lapels. One sodden guest hid behind her husband and refused to look in the direction of reporters watching the guest arrivals.
Besides better weather, the dinner also lacked Hollywood star power. Billie Jean King, a tennis great from days of yore, was one of the biggest names among the 220-plus invited guests.
King said she'd spent the day reading up on the just-passed U.S. free-trade agreement with South Korea and was "just excited to be here and be a part of it and share." It was her first state dinner.
For the occasion, Obama deployed maximum culinary diplomacy to signal his high regard for Lee. An intimate dinner at a suburban Korean restaurant on Wednesday was followed Thursday by lunch on the State Department's fine china and the dinner at the White House.
Lee's state visit got off to a soggy start under umbrellas at a pared-down morning arrival ceremony on the South Lawn.
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But inside the White House, rich fall colors and floral arrangements of mums and hydrangeas mixed with fresh apples gave the guests a warm welcome.
The meal incorporated vegetables and herbs from the White House garden. The menu: butternut squash bisque, a salad featuring daikon sheets and masago rice pearl crispies in a nod to Korean traditions, wagyu beef from Texas and chocolate cake served with a blend of Korean and American pears.
Korean elements punctuated the decor too, including Korean knotting on the menu cards, deep red bamboo vases on some tables and chrysanthemums in the fall-hued floral arrangements. In Korea, bamboo represents integrity, and chrysanthemums are a sign of a productive and fruitful life, the White House said.
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Mrs. Obama wore a striking purple, one-shouldered gown by Korean-born designer Doo-Ri Chung as she and the president welcome Lee and his wife in the rain. The South Korean first lady, Kim Yoon-ok, wore a traditional hanbok in pink and white.
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The entertainment lineup mixed East and West: The Ahn trio of sisters born in Seoul and reared in New York who play piano, violin and cello. Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Janelle Monae, from Kansas City, Kansas, sings a blend of alternative, R&B and funk sounds.
The rain — and a tornado watch — didn't scare away anyone lucky enough to snag a ticket for Washington's most sought-after A-list event.
Also on the guest list? Ford CEO Alan Mullaly, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro, who cut short a trade mission to — where else? — South Korea.
Obama has developed a special rapport with Lee: The two clicked during Obama's first trip to Asia in 2009, and the signs of friendship were manifold during his visit to Washington.
Obama and Lee shared a limo on the way to a Korean restaurant in a Virginia suburb for dinner Wednesday night. During the meal, Obama shared the long-awaited news — hot off his BlackBerry — that Congress had finished work on the U.S.-South Korea trade pact.
Mrs. Obama took Kim on a morning field trip to a high school in Annandale, Va., that has a large bloc of Korean-American students.
Vice President Joe Biden got in on the charm offensive at a lunch of lemongrass sesame chicken in the State Department's opulent Ben Franklin Room. He took note of Lee's nickname "Bulldozer" and said Lee, slight of build, doesn't look anything like an NFL linebacker, but had earned his nickname by taking apart and reassembling a bulldozer to figure out how to make it work better.
Biden called that a testament to Lee's perseverance and patience in pursuit of practical solutions.
Obama picked up the theme in his dinner toast, saying of Lee: "There's a reason people call him the Bulldozer — he is unstoppable."
Lee, for his part, spoke of what a "very close friend" Obama was, adding, "I'm a very, very honest guy, so what I say I really mean."
Slideshow: Michelle Obama's effortless style (on this page)This was the first White House state visit to include a "tweetup," offering a few hundred Americans the chance to attend the morning arrival ceremony and live tweet about it. The tweetup was in peril when heavy rain threatened to turn the arrival ceremony into a smaller, indoor event that couldn't accommodate the "tweeps." But at the last minute, the rain eased up enough to allow the event to go forward outside.
"Yup. Totally shook hands with the President. Nbd," (no big deal), tweeted 23-year-old Alex Nagler, who came down from New York. Afterward, sitting at a nearby Starbucks in soaking shoes, Nagler reported, "It was nice to see what's purely a diplomatic event turned into something for the general populace."
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Dub Pool, a 53-year-old church administrator from Annapolis, Md., chimed in with this tweet: "Stood in the rain 3 hrs at South Lawn of the White House. Soaked to the skin. Totally worth it."
Yup, Pool got to shake the president's hand too. But he said it was a little tricky to fire off tweets in the rain.
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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