Sandara Park
Sandara Park, also known mononymously as Dara, is a South Korean singer, actress and television presenter. She rose to fame in the Philippines as a contestant on the ABS-CBN original talent show Star Circle Quest in 2004, after which she had a successful acting and singing career before returning to South Korea in 2007. She made her Korean debut in 2009 as a member of the K-pop group 2NE1, which became one of the most popular K-pop groups in the world. Park is one of the most recognizable Korean celebrities in the Philippines and is considered a leading figure in the spread of Korean wave into the country.
In 2004, Park released her first extended play, Sandara, which sold over 100,000 physical copies, making it the only album by a South Korean artist to be certified platinum by the Philippine Association of the Record Industry. She acted in several Philippine films between 2004 and 2007, including Bcuz of U, for which she won the award for Best New Actress at the 21st PMPC Star Awards for Movies. In 2009, Park released her first Korean single, "Kiss", featuring fellow 2NE1 member CL.
2NE1's hiatus in 2015 allowed Park to focus on her television career, including co-hosting the South Korean variety show Two Yoo Project Sugar Man, and appearing as a judge on the Philippine talent show Pinoy Boyband Superstar. She also acted in several web series, including Dr. Ian, for which she won Best Actress at a Korean web festival. Following 2NE1's disbandment at the end of 2016, Park renewed her contract with YG Entertainment until her contract expiration in May 2021.
In September 2021, Abyss Company announced that Park would be joining the agency. In July 2023, she released her first album in South Korea with the digital EP Sandara Park. After 2NE1 reformed in July 2024, Park resumed group activities under YG Entertainment.
Early life
Sandara Park was born on November 12, 1984, in Busanjin District, Busan, South Korea. Her unusual three-syllable given name means "wise and clever" and is based on the childhood nickname of 7th century general Kim Yu-sin. She has two siblings: Thunder, who is a former member of K-pop boy group MBLAQ, and a younger sister named Durami. Aside from her native Korean, she is also fluent in Tagalog and English.Park's family moved to Daegu in 1993. However, Park's father was unable to make ends meet, and the family moved to the Philippines in hopes of rebuilding his career in 1994. According to Park, she was initially lonely in the Philippines because she was not fluent in Filipino, the national language, and her pronunciation of the language was not good. She later said she worked hard to correct her pronunciation in hopes of one day becoming a celebrity, which was a dream she had harbored since hearing K-pop boy band Seo Taiji and Boys in 1992.
Career
2004–2013: ''Star Circle Quest'', Philippine success and 2NE1
In late 2003, Park met Filipina actress Pauleen Luna, who encouraged Park to audition for Star Circle Quest, a talent search television program on ABS-CBN. Over the course of the season, Park escaped elimination several times, and reached the final ten contestants. During the last elimination round, Park received approximately half a million text votes and finished in second place, behind Hero Angeles.After the show, Park signed a contract with ABS-CBN's talent agency, Star Magic. In 2004, she starred in her first film, the romantic comedy Bcuz of U, opposite Hero Angeles. For her performance, Park won Best New Actress at the 21st PMPC Star Award for Movies. Park and Hero Angeles collaborated again for the 2005 movie Can This Be Love, which reportedly grossed almost 100 million pesos. Her third movie was 2006's D' Lucky Ones, in which she was paired with Star Circle Quest alumnus, Joseph Bitangcol. In the same year, her fourth, Super Noypi, was shown in December and was an official entry in the 32nd Metro Manila Film Festival.
Park also embarked on a music career in the Philippines that led to the release of her self-titled six-track album, Sandara, which included the novelty dance hit "In or Out", a song that parodied her experiences on Star Circle Quest. The album ultimately sold over 100,000 physical copies, making it the only album by a South Korean artist to be certified platinum by the Philippine Association of the Record Industry. Park left the Filipino show business and returned to South Korea with her family in 2007, as she was not offered to renew her contract with Star Magic. Shortly after, she signed a contract with YG Entertainment, whose CEO Yang Hyun-suk had scouted her back in 2004 after she appeared on a KBS documentary.
Park took on the stage name Dara, and together with Bom, CL, and Minzy, debuted as K-pop girl group 2NE1 in 2009. The group collaborated with label-mates Big Bang for the promotional single "Lollipop", before officially debuting with their first single "Fire". That same year, the group released their first EP, 2NE1, and achieved significant success with the hit single "I Don't Care", which won the Song of the Year award at the 2009 Mnet Asian Music Awards.
Park also made her solo Korean debut in 2009. She was featured on the single "Hello" from BigBang member G-Dragon's album Heartbreaker, and later released her first solo single, "Kiss", which featured fellow 2NE1 member CL as a rapper. The song was used in a video promoting Cass Beer, which Park starred in alongside actor Lee Min-ho. The video became popular for a kissing scene between the two performers, and the single topped South Korean music charts. Park again teamed up with a BigBang member in 2010, when she made an appearance as the female lead in Taeyang's "I Need A Girl" music video.
During this era, 2NE1 continued to release hit albums and songs, including "I Am the Best", "I Love You" and "Falling in Love", which topped the charts in South Korea and made the group the second South Korean artists after Psy to top the US Billboard World Digital Songs chart. As a result of 2NE1's growing fame, Park's earlier Philippine movies Bcuz of U, Can This Be Love, and D' Lucky Ones were screened in South Korea in 2012.
2014–2015: Return to the Philippines, renewed acting and ''Sugar Man''
In May 2014, ABS-CBN announced that Park would be a guest on Pinoy Big Brother, which set off a social media frenzy, dominating both the Philippines and worldwide Twitter trending topics. She guest-starred on the show on May 15, and later appeared as a celebrity house-guest in the telecast, All In Über, during its live episode.Back in South Korea, Park replaced close friend Yoo In-na as a DJ for her Let's Crank Up the Volume radio program from May to June due to scheduling clashes. Later in the year, Park made a surprise cameo appearance as a top actress in the last episode of the highly rated Korean drama My Love from the Star. On November 12, 2014, BeFunny Studios made an unannounced release of a three-part mini web series starring The Walking Dead's Steven Yeun and Park, titled What's eating Steven Yeun. Park played the role of Steven Yeun's American girlfriend who is left behind as her boyfriend pursues a career in "Mukbang", a popular Korean internet broadcast where generally attractive people paid to eat in front of a webcam. The comedy sketch went viral, and reached over a million views in the few days after release.
In 2015, seven years after her last acting role, Park returned to the small screen through the web-drama Dr. Ian, starring alongside Kim Young-kwang. Expectations were high as the series featured Park in her first leading role since returning to South Korea, coupled with the involvement of director Kwon Hyeok-chan. The series enjoyed global popularity, not only in Korea but also in the United States, Taiwan, and Thailand, surpassing 500,000 views within three days of its broadcasting. Park became the first actress to win the "Best Actress" award at the K-web festival for her performance.
The same month, Park featured in label-mate Jinusean's stage for their single "Tell Me", on You Hee-yeol's Sketchbook. Her natural performance impressed the group which led to a second collaboration, where Park featured on their "Tell Me One More Time" comeback stage in place of the original singer, Jang Hana, on KBS2's Music Bank on May 1. Park then took on her second leading role in We Broke Up, a web-drama based upon a web-toon of the same name. She played the role of Noh Woo-ri, an optimistic and bright girl preparing to get a job. Premiering in June, the series was a success, becoming the fourth most watched web-drama on Naver with 16 million views. Due to the positive reception, the cast held a personal 'mini concert' on August 17. Park also made cameo appearances in the television series The Producers, playing a fictional 2 Days & 1 Night variety program cast member alongside her We Broke Up co-star Kang Seung-yoon.
On September 15, 2015, Park was cast opposite Goong star Kim Jeong-hoon in Missing Korea, a romantic-comedy set in the fictional year of 2020, in which the North and South are working towards unification through non-governmental exchanges and economic cooperation, leading to the first-ever 'North-South Joint Miss Korea Pageant'. Though not as successful on the global market as her previous web-dramas, Park received acting recognition and earned her another nomination for "Best Actress" in the 2016 K-web festival, making her the first idol-turned-actress to be nominated for the award in succeeding years.
Park later joined JTBC variety show Sugar Man from 2015 to 2016, alongside Yoo Jae-suk, You Hee-yeol, and Kim Eana as a co-host. The first episode was broadcast on October 20. The production team stated, "We think that Sandara Park has a unique strength that encompasses the emotions of the younger generation and the memories of the older generation. We predict she will actively radiate new, never-before-seen charms." Through her involvement as YG Entertainment's public relations director, artists such as Akmu, Winner, iKon, and Lee Hi were able to perform on the show, and during an episode for which she wasn't present, friend and fellow actress Yoo In-na replaced her.