Sandara Park (Korean: 박산다라, Hanja: 朴-, born November 12, 1984 in Busan, South Korea) is a television personality who is also called "Dara" as one of the vocal members of Korean Girl Group 2NE1. A former Korean expatriate who once starred in movies and television shows in the Philippines. Her unusual three-syllable Korean name, which she has talked about numerous times during interviews, comes from that of a Korean general, Kim Yushin - whose childhood name was "Sandara (산다라)". Sandara Park made her debut in 2004 with ABS-CBN's Star Circle Quest.
Early life
Sandara was born to affluent Korean parents. However, by the time Sandara was 8-years-old, her father's relatives placed him in a financially tight spot which then crippled his business. In hope of recovering from this strain, Sandara's father tried his luck in the Philippines. He settled in a small apartment in Pasay City, and started a business. Sandara and her family remained at her grandmother's house in South Korea for some time until her father finally had enough money to relocate them to the Philippines.
Initially, no one in their family was fluent in English or Filipino (Tagalog). However, she learned English and studied Chinese when she began school in the Philippines, and later became quite fluent in Filipino (Tagalog). Her interviews have also shown that she developed Englog and Taglish capabilities.
Stardom in the Philippines
Rise to Philippine showbiz
During one of her school functions, Sandara met Pauleen Luna, who was then a talent of ABS-CBN Channel 2 Talent Center [2]. Luna encouraged the shy Sandara to audition for Star Circle Quest, a then-up-and-coming reality talent search for ABS-CBN.
The show's judges called her in, and she was able to elude elimination several times, paving the way for her inclusion into the contestant-pool's top ten. Being a native Korean, she displayed some trouble with the daily exercises set by the panel of Filipino judges. During the last elimination round in which the final five contestants were chosen, Sandara made Philippine history by garnering approximately 500,000 text votes, making her the first female to garner that much SMS support. And so she remained until the final night when she was announced First Runner-up to Hero Angeles. It is estimated that she got at least 2,000,000 accumulated SMS votes from supporters during the entire run of the contest.
Star Status Established
Sandara Park became a member of ABS-CBN's elite circle of homegrown talents, properly named Star Magic [3]. ABS-CBN [4] showered Park with projects after her Star Circle Quest [5] days. She had six local commercial endorsements for personal care and food products. She also received several television show offers. She starred in a youth-oriented program SCQ Reload, OK Ako, and hosted "Sandara's Romance", a show featuring Korean dramas and commentary. She also had a hosting stint on ASAP Fanatic, a Sunday noontime teen variety show. She also appeared in a local daily primetime superhero soap opera, Krystala, as Kim, who shared similarities with her real-life self, but her tight schedule limited her appearances.
In addition, Sandara also embarked on a musical career that eventually led to the release of her self-titled 6-track album which spawned the novelty dance hits "In Or Out," a song that parodied her experiences on Star Circle Quest, and "Walang Sabit," the jingle for Rejoice Shampoo. As proof of Sandara's rapid rising-star status, the album was Certified Double Platinum (2x Platinum) selling more than 60,000 copies after 6 months.
Sandara also appeared in four movies - Bcuz of U, a three-storyline movie which co-starred other prominent local actors, Can This Be Love, which grossed P 99,000,000 in the box office, D' Lucky Ones and Super Noypi, a Filipino fantasy film and an official entry to 32nd Metro Manila Film Festival.
Return to South Korea
Sandara left the Philippines and returned to South Korea on August 1, 2007 [6] with her mother and siblings to begin a new life. The next day, August 2, 2007, YG Entertainment reported that they had signed a contract with Sandara[7]. As a new member of the YG family, she joined popular Korean artists and bands such as Big Bang, Se7en, Jinusean, Lexy, and 1TYM. Sandara has made an appearance in Gummy's Music Video for the song "I'm Sorry (ft. T.O.P of Big Bang)" as the partner of T.O.P.
2NE1
2NE1 [8] was much anticipated by the fans of YG Entertainment. Before their debut, YG Entertainment had put up numerous videos of the members, Sandara Park, Park Bom, CL, and Gong Minji during practice, and they became well-known as the Female Big Bang. Sandara was a very popular member of 2NE1. News of the "Female Big Bang" even became highly anticipated overseas, and their fans began to grow. Then, on March 27, 2009, 2NE1 was featured in a commercial for the LG phone Lollipop with Big Bang. Sandara and 2NE1 gained popularity both through the commercial and the music video of the song "Lollipop" and their debut became a hot topic. On May 6, 2009, two versions of their debut song "Fire"'s Music Video were released, igniting the fire that would spread throughout the Kpop world. 2NE1 performed their debut stage on May 17th on SBS Inkigayo. Their song "Fire" topped charts for weeks, and 2NE1 hit the top spot again with their song "I Don't Care" from their first mini-album. The song was released on July 1, 2009 and hit number one on the charts the same day.
She is now known for her new stage name Dara.
Filmography
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Network |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 2NE1 TV | Herself / 2NE1 Member | YG Entertainment |
| 2009 | 돌아온 일지매 (The Return of Iljimae) [9] | Rie | MBC |
| 2007 | Dalawang Tisoy | Kim | C/S 9 |
| 2007 | Nuts Entertainment (Balakubak) | Herself / Guest | GMA Network |
| 2006 | Voltes V (Tagalog Dubbed) | Voice Actress for Jamie Robinson | Hero |
| 2006 | Star Magic Presents: Abt Ur Luv | Bettina | ABS-CBN |
| 2006 | Star Magic Presents: Bongga | Barbie | ABS-CBN |
| 2006 | Gudtaym | Herself | ABS-CBN |
| 2006 | O-Ha! | TV5 | |
| 2006 | Crazy for You | Ara | ABS-CBN |
| 2006 | Komiks: Machete | Mara | ABS-CBN |
| 2005 | Maalaala Mo Kaya | herself | ABS-CBN |
| 2005 | SCQ Reload: Kilig Ako! | Sandara Soh | ABS-CBN |
| 2004 | 내 이름은 산다라 박 (My Name is Sandara Park) | Herself | KBS |
| 2004 | Krystala | Kim | ABS-CBN |
| 2004 | ASAP Fanatic | Herself / Performer | ABS-CBN |
| 2004 | SCQ Reload: OK Ako! | Sandara Soh | ABS-CBN |
| 2004 | Sandara's Romance [10] | Herself / Host / Narrator | ABS-CBN |
| 2004 | Star Circle Quest | Herself / Contestant / Runner-up | ABS-CBN |
[edit] Film
| Year | Title | Role | Producer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Super Noypi | Michi | Regal Films |
| 2006 | D' Lucky Ones | Lucky Girl | Star Cinema |
| 2005 | Can This Be Love | Daisy/Yoon Hea | Star Cinema |
| 2004 | Bcuz Of U | April | Star Cinema |
| 2004 | Volta | Herself/Cameo | Star Cinema |
[edit] Others
| Year | Title | Role | Organizer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | I Don't Care by 2NE1 | Member | YG Entertainment |
| 2009 | Fire by 2NE1 | Member | YG Entertainment |
| 2009 | Lollipop by Big Bang feat. 2NE1 | Member of a new girl group called 2NE1 | YG Entertainment |
| 2008 | Music video of "I'm Sorry" by Gummy | Guest appearance together with T.O.P. (member of Big Bang) as a couple | |
| 2007 | The ARAW Values Advertising Awards | Herself / Presenter | |
| 2006 | Ang Ganda Ko (D' Lucky Ones Movie Theme Song) | Herself / Singer / Cast Member | Star Records and Star Cinema |
| 2005 | Farewell Lovers: A Lover in Paris Special | Herself / Host | ABS-CBN |
| 2005 | 2004 MBC Awards | Herself / Presenter | MBC |
| 2005 | 21st PMPC Star Awards For Movies | | Philippine Movie Press Club |
| 2005 | Sandara: Ang Pambansang Krung-Krung ng Pilipinas (TV Special) | Herself | ABS-CBN |
| 2005 | Walang Sabit ( Music Video / Commercial ) | Herself / Singer and Model / Endorser | Star Records and Rejoice |
| 2004 | In or Out | Herself / Singer | Star Records |
Discography
| Year of release | Title | Singles |
|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Sandara [11] | In or Out Mapasagot Mo Kaya Smile In Your Heart Sabi Ko Na Nga Ba Dear Heart |
| 2004 Star Records | SCQ Fab 5 | WE ARE THE STARS -Ragnarok The Animation Theme Song WE ARE THE STARS -Ragnarok The Animation Theme Song (MTV) |
| 2005 Star Records | Sandara / Rejoice "Walang Sabit" | In or Out Mapasagot Mo Kaya Smile In Your Heart Sabi Ko Na Nga Ba Dear Heart Walang Sabit Walang Sabit (Minus One) |
| 2006 Star Records | Sandara (Ang Ganda Ko) [15] | In or Out Mapasagot Mo Kaya Smile In Your Heart Sabi Ko Na Nga Ba Dear Heart Ang Ganda Ko (Bonus Track, Theme Song Of "D' Lucky Ones") |
| 2009 | 2NE1 Mini-Album [16] | Fire I Don't Care Pretty Boy In The Club Let's Go Party Stay Together Lollipop (Bonus Track) |
