Sandara Park, known by her stage name Dara, is a South Korean singer, actress and television presenter.
60 Facts About Sandara Park
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Sandara Park rose to fame in the Philippines as a contestant on the talent show Star Circle Quest in 2004, after which she had a successful acting and singing career before returning to South Korea in 2007.
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Sandara Park made her South Korean debut in 2009 as a member of the K-pop group 2NE1, which went on to become one of the best-selling girl groups of all time before their disbandment in 2016.
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Sandara Park is considered an influential figure in the Korean wave, and has been called the "BoA of the Philippines" in reference to South Korean singer BoA who experienced great success abroad.
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In 2004, Park released her first EP, 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.
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Sandara Park acted in several Philippine films between 2004 and 2007, including Bcuz of U, for which she won the award for Best New Actress the 21st PMPC Star Award for Movies.
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In 2009, Sandara Park debuted as a member of 2NE1 with the single "Fire", which immediately catapulted the group to fame.
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Sandara Park released her first Korean single, "Kiss", featuring fellow 2NE1 member CL, in 2009.
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The group's hiatus beginning in 2015 allowed Sandara Park to focus on her television career, 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.
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Sandara Park acted in several web series, including Dr Ian, for which she won Best Actress at a Korean web festival.
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Sandara Park was born on November 12,1984, in Busan, South Korea.
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Sandara Park has two siblings: Thunder, who is a former member of K-pop boy group MBLAQ, and a younger sister named Durami.
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However, Sandara Park's father was unable to make ends meet, and the family moved to the Philippines in hopes of rebuilding his career in 1994.
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Sandara Park 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.
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In 2004, Sandara Park met Filipina actress Pauleen Luna, who encouraged Sandara Park to audition for Star Circle Quest, a talent search television program on ABS-CBN.
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Sandara 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.
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Sandara Park took on the stage name Dara, and together with Bom, CL and Minzy, debuted as K-pop girl group 2NE1 in 2009.
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Sandara Park 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.
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The song was used in a video promoting Cass Beer, which Sandara Park starred in alongside actor Lee Min-ho.
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Sandara 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.
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In May 2014, ABS-CBN announced that Sandara 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.
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Later in the year, Sandara 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.
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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 Sandara Park, titled What's eating Steven Yeun.
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Sandara Park played the role of Steven Yeun's American girlfriend who is left behind as her boyfriend pursues a career in "Mokbang", a popular Korean internet broadcast where generally attractive people paid to eat in front of a webcam.
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In 2015, seven years after her last acting role, Sandara Park returned to the small screen through the web-drama Dr Ian, starring alongside Kim Young-kwang.
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Sandara Park became the first actress to win the "Best Actress" award at the K-web festival for her performance.
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Sandara Park then took on her second leading role in We Broke Up, a web-drama based upon a web-toon of the same name.
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Sandara Park played the role of Noh Woo-ri, an optimistic and bright girl preparing to get a job.
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On September 15,2015, Sandara 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'.
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Sandara 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.
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Sandara Park started the year 2016 with a special appearance in the MBC drama One More Happy Ending, as a beloved but spoiled star of a popular girl group.
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Sandara Park participated in the promotional single "Loving U" as part of the drama's soundtrack.
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Sandara Park was officially promoted from being YG Entertainment's public relations head to director.
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Sandara Park then joined the judging panel of ABS-CBN's reality singing competition show Pinoy Boyband Superstar, alongside Filipino top stars Yeng Constantino, Vice Ganda, and Aga Muhlach.
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In 2017, Sandara Park became the host of OnStyle's beauty program Get It Beauty, alongside Honey Lee and Gugudan's Kim Se-jeong.
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Sandara Park then starred alongside Han Jae-suk in her domestic debut film One Step.
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Sandara Park received acting praise from its director, Jeon Jae-hong, who noted that she only had one retake during the filming process due to her professionalism.
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Sandara Park participated in another OnStyle project titled Relationship Appeal, where she reviewed trending topics and travel to popular tourist spots.
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Controversy arose when rude remarks directed at Sandara Park were made during MBC's SeMoBang: All Broadcasting in the World collaboration segment with Piki Pictures mobile variety team 'This is Real'.
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Sandara Park closed the year by performing 2NE1's past hits in a solo headlining concert, one year after the band's disbandment.
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Sandara Park scored her first mainstream big screen role in the film adaption of the popular webtoon Cheese in the Trap as the heroine's best friend, Jang Bo-ra.
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The year continued Sandara Park's increased regular appearances on television with Mimi Shop, Borrowing Trouble, and MBC's Real Man 300.
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In January 2019, Sandara Park served as a special guest and support act for labelmate Seungri on his Hong Kong and Manila tour dates for The Great Seungri tour.
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Sandara Park became a judge and advisor in Stage K, a K-pop challenge variety television show, which premiered in April 2019.
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In 2020, Sandara Park made her musical debut through the stage adaptation of the drama Another Oh Hae-young, is set to cameo in the melodrama Shall We Have Dinner Together as a patient seeking physiological help to remedy her eating habits.
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On May 14,2021, it was announced that Sandara Park left YG Entertainment as her exclusive contract has expired.
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On September 1,2021, Abyss Company announced that Sandara Park had signed an exclusive contract with the agency.
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Sandara Park is credited as one of the leading figures in the 'Reverse-Hallyu' Wave.
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Sandara Park is dubbed the 'BoA of the Philippines' by Korean fans due to the similar success between the two, as BoA was the first Korean artist to break through the Japanese market.
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Sandara Park holds the national title of 'Pambansang Krung Krung ng Pilipinas' given to her by Filipino fans, and her popularity in the region is likened to comedian Yoo Jae-suk's fame in South Korea.
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In popular culture, Sandara Park is the icon of "baby-face" amongst celebrities and the public, which is an individual who looks younger than their actual age.
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Sandara Park is noted for having the ideal facial proportions, called "the golden ratio" by plastic surgeons.
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Sandara Park is one of the most in-demand faces in both the Philippines and South Korea, having appeared in many TV commercials and print ads over the course of her career.
54.
Sandara Park served as the face for Tekki Asian Classic Noodles, and helped promote Canon, a Japanese camera brand looking to solidify their power in the Philippines.
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Sandara Park endorsed Confident feminine napkins, and Rejoice shampoo as well.
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Sandara Park named the camera after her, going by the official name of "Sandara Digicam".
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The limited special not only increased Etude House's sales, but attracted a foreign consumer base who, moments after Sandara Park was seen holding the item, visited the South Korean stores specifically to purchase the umbrella, where it was bought in every color.
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In 2013, Sandara Park became the new makeup model for Clio, a well-established makeup company founded in 1993.
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In October 2020, Sandara Park donated 30,000 face masks to Korea Children's Incurable Disease Association, WE START, and the Korea Pediatric Cancer Foundation.
60.
Sandara Park managed to contact CL using the hotel phone, prompting her to walk up several flights of stairs to rescue her.