Traveling allows us to expand our understanding of the world. When we travel to a country of our ethnic background, it can feel like we are getting to know ourselves on a deeper level. This appears to be the case for Joanna Gaines, who recently traveled to Seoul, South Korea.
The trip was a long-awaited bucket-list event for the whole extended family. Joanna’s mother, Nan, is Korean and had always wanted to share the country with her daughters. The family made it happen. Joanna was able to share this experience with Chip and her children. She posted about it on Instagram.
Joanna’s video montage showed highlights from the once-in-a-lifetime trip. “For years, my mother has talked about taking her three daughters to Seoul, Korea when the cherry blossoms are in full bloom. And for years, that’s all it was—a dream we’d talk about in that ‘maybe, someday’ way we all do when something feels just a little out of reach,” her caption began.
“But this year, we 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. We met family we’ve only ever seen pictures of. We saw the cherry blossoms in full bloom. We walked the same streets my mother did as a young girl, and then again as a young woman with my dad’s hand in hers,” she went on to say.
Joanna will forever remember this special trip. “In a lot of ways, this trip felt like coming home. Somehow, connecting with my mom’s past made my own story feel more complete. Feeling grateful for every moment this trip gave us,” she concluded.
Joanna admitted on her podcast, The Stories We Tell With Joanna Gaines, that she did not always fully embrace her Korean side growing up. That has changed.
“I now am fully in a place of just complete pride,” she said.
