Sandara Park

For her performance, Park won Best New Actress at the 21st PMPC Star Award for Movies.

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.

Sandara Park (born November 12, 1984), known mononymously as Dara, is a South Korean singer, actress and television presenter.

Sandara Park was born on November 12, 1984, in 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, English and Chinese.

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.

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 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.

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 (PARI).

She 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.

In 2004, 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 subsidiary, Star Magic.

In 2004, she starred in her first film, the romantic comedy Bcuz of U, opposite Hero Angeles.

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 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.

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.

She 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.

Park is one of the most popular South Korean celebrities in the Philippines and is recognized as one of the leading figures in the spread of the Korean wave into the country.

In 2009, Park debuted as a member of 2NE1 with the single "Fire", which immediately catapulted the group to fame.

She also released her first Korean single, "Kiss", featuring fellow 2NE1 member CL, in 2009.

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.

2NE1's hiatus beginning in 2015 allowed 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.

She also acted in several web series, including Dr. Ian (2016), 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.

She would later leave YG following her contract expiration in May 2021.

Abyss Company announced in September that Park would be joining the agency.

In July 2023, she released her first album in South Korea with the digital EP Sandara Park, which spawned the single "Festival".