Joanna Gaines Is Visiting South Korea After Opening Up About Her Difficult Path to Embracing Her Heritage

Joanna Gaines has touched down in South Korea!

The Fixer Upper: Welcome Home star, 44, documented her journey to Seoul from Waco, Texas, with a series of videos on her Instagram Story.

Her adventure to her mom Nan's homeland comes after the star recently opened up about learning to embrace her Korean heritage after being bullied for it as a child.

The HGTV designer shared several videos taken out her plane window, including views over a mountainous landscape with Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Free Bird" playing in the background. "Headed to 🇰🇷(!!!!!!!!)," she wrote on the clip.

Another video shows an aerial view of the high rises below as she prepares to land with a soundtrack of "Fly Like an Eagle." "We made it!" she wrote on the post.

After touching down, Gaines shared a few clips of her first glimpse of the South Korean capital including a sign that says "Seoul Welcomes You" on an overpass, a view of the cherry blossom-lined streets, and the K-pop music video playing on her taxi screen, girl group Billlie's "EUNOIA."

Gaines, whose mother was born and raised in South Korea, has been candid about her difficult journey to embracing her Korean heritage. In an exclusive interview with PEOPLE in November, the Magnolia star opened up about getting bullied for being part Korean as a child.

"We were literally the only Asians in our entire school," Gaines recalled, referring to her and her sister. She adds that they were often teased for eating rice for lunch in the cafeteria and even used to get called names.

"It was deeply personal because that was half of my story," she told PEOPLE. "I realized if this isn't accepted, maybe I need to hide it and play more into the other side of who I am."

Gaines continued, "I just internally processed all by myself," adding that it wasn't healthy for her to do as a kid because "what you end up doing is just shoving it somewhere. It ends up coming out at some point because we have to deal with it. So for me, sadly, it took years for me to wrestle with that."

It wasn't until she visited New York City for a college internship that she started to change her perspective on her mixed heritage.

"I saw more people that looked like me than ever before," she says. "I left really understanding the beauty and uniqueness of Korean culture and for the first time I felt whole, like this is fully who I am and I'm proud of it."

In November, Gaines revisited the special city that inspired her self-acceptance and took a trip to Koreatown with her daughters — Emmie Kay 12, and Ella, 15 — whom she shares with husband Chip Gaines.

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She shared a powerful video that documented her time there alongside a meaningful caption.

"I was 21 the first time I walked through Koreatown. I'd just moved to NYC and was missing home, and everything about these streets—the food, the smells, the language—reminded me of my mom," she wrote. "It was the first time I can remember truly feeling connected to a culture I grew up believing I needed to hide. It was beautiful to watch people live out the fullness of their story."

She continued: "Finally, I was seeing the beauty of being unique and realized that what made me different was actually the best part about me."