The state dinner to honor Korean president Lee Myung-bak is gets underway with a toast at 8:35 p.m. at the White House, and if you're reading this it means you're probably not there. But that's no reason you can't dine vicariously with the Obamas and the rest of the esteemed crowd. The Washington Post's Ned Martel is live-blogging the event to keep you abreast of the proceedings and especially Michelle's wardrobe ("If Michelle O goes Korean traditional, that could be called One Night in Hanbok," he tweets). The White House also released the menu, which includes lettuce from the White House garden and Wagyu beef from Texas. According to Martel, this is the first time the White House has received a Korean leader since 1998, so Korea was due. What Myung-bak may not have anticipated is that Janelle Monae is set to perform. As NPR's Ari Shapiro tweeted, "I need the Salahis to give me tips on how to see the show."

The menu released by the White House reflects the honored guest's homeland:

To get even closer to the menu, check out the video from inside the kitchen leading up to the dinner. Those thin pear slices look absolutely ghostly:

Want to add to this story? Let us know in comments or send an email to the author at amartin at theatlantic dot com. You can share ideas for stories on the Open Wire.
Adam Martin