►►2NE1’s Dara talks about brother MBLAQ’s Thunder, “I’m like one of his crazy fan girls”
With a dongsaeng who is walking down the same path as her, and dreaming the same dream as her, she is not alone in her celebrity life.
Sandara Park’s youngest brother is Cheondoong of MBLAQ. Although he overflows with charisma on stage, to Sandara Park, he’ll always be like a little kid.
“Cheondoong and I are six years apart. Starting from when he was young I’d carry him on my back and stuff and I always worried about him. Even still, when I see him perform on stage, it’s admirable. Isn’t he cute when he shows off his personal talents on variety shows?”
Cheondoong was added late into the group that Bi produced, MBLAQ. Because of this, he had to work twice as hard.
“Starting from when Cheondoong was young, he wanted to become a singer. He worked even harder than me at learning dance. I think he’s much better than me in terms of musical talent. (Laughs)”
While talking about Cheondoong, Sandara Park’s eyes were filled with love. 2NE1 members even said “Sandara Park is like Cheondoong’s stalker.”
“Cheondoong’s apartment is pretty far from ours so I can’t see him often. It seems like my brother’s busier than me. So we chat online and cam together online everyday. If I look at what Cheondoong is doing through webcam, the other members keep saying ‘She’s like one of his crazy fangirls.’”
►►2NE1’s Dara reveals secrets about “Try to follow me” MV
A music video production diary written by Sandara herself will take the place of Part 7 of Sandara Park’s Star Diary. She wrote her own subheadings and posted the pictures herself too.
This is Reporter Dara! I see my reporting skills have been recognised by the outside world as well, so I get to be a reporter for the day.
It’s been a hot topic on the net lately. I am thinking of releasing the behind story of the filming of our ‘Try To Follow Me’ (‘TTFM’) music video.
►►2NE1’s Dara, “The members and I secretly eat chocolate and bread in the bathroom”
”I’m going to see if you have the potential to be a singer for the last time. Show me your results in a month.”
It was like a ray of light for Sandara who was having a hard time overcoming the sadness of her situation. For the first and last time, President Yang had given her a chance.
”I practised SO hard for a month. CL, Park Bom and Gong Minzy gave me a lot of help as they watched me practise. I made a planning chart and practised until dawn.”
Park Bom taught her things on breathing, pronunciation and where to accent in songs. CL helped with selecting outfits, and Minzy with making choreography.
”At the time, the members pretty much made me up from head to toe. I think it was in spring of 2008, I tried really hard with the thought that it was the last opportunity I’d get.”
President Yang said ”For the first time, I see potential. Practise with the rest” and allowed Sandara to become a singer trainee.
”To tell the truth, I thought that meant I’d become a singer soon after. But I was deluded. I lived as a trainee for a year. There were 6 trainees in YG at the time and I think President Yang was paying close attention to all of us to decide on the best combination.”
Sandara was in a delicate situation for a year. She couldn’t let her guard down after President Yang told them ‘No one knows whether there will be six members or five.’ As time went by, hip hop became a part of Sandara’s life too and she started becoming more and more like the other members.
►►2NE1’s Dara, “Big Bang’s TOP is shy…we’re still awkward”
“Dara, I don’t think you really fit the YG image. How about becoming an actress?”
To Sandara who had even given up her popularity in the Philippines to become a singer, these words came to her as a huge shock. Working with Yang Hyun Seok had seemed like a dream come true for Sandara as she had liked Seo Taiji & Boys and copied their dances and songs from a young age. Sandara got on her plane excited about fulfilling her dream as a singer in Korea, and that under her childhood hero too.
”I was really shocked at President Yang’s words. He was right though. In the Philippines I had a teenager image, and I lacked skill as well as being ignorant about black music. But even so I never even imagined that he’d tell me to become an actress instead. It felt like the hardships had come.”
Back in 2007 when Sandara signed an exclusive contract with YG Entertainment, the singers of YG who were active at the time included highly skilled artists like Se7en, Wheesung, Gummy and Lexy. There were also countless trainees in YG looking to follow their dreams as a singer. It caused some controversy when it was reported that YG was signing Sandara.
”I think people made the judgement that I didn’t suit YG after seeing my image in the Philippines on KBS’ ‘Human Theatre’.”
►►2NE1’s Dara, “The truth about the sexy photoshoot controversy…”
After initially becoming famous with ‘Star Circle Quest’, Sandara Park began to speed through the highway that was the Filipino entertainment industry. She was even confirmed to appear on 4 programs a week! And as the number of her TV appearances increased, she gained more and more popularity. But some of the unique customs of Filipino broadcasts were difficult to understand for Koreans.
“In order to be a TV star in the Philippines, you had to be active as a couple with a star of the opposite sex who was chosen for you by the broadcast companies. And most Filipino celebrities considered hiatuses deadly to a star’s career.”
Like you have to follow Roman rules when visiting Rome, Sandara faithfully followed the rules of the Filipino celebrity industry.
“To tell the truth, even during ‘Star Circle Quest’, I held on even when things got hard, thinking ‘I’ll be able to relax after this’. But as soon as ‘Star Circle Quest’ ended, I was put into four different programs. Sigh~ I didn’t get a day off for a whole year. I even had to sleep in the car. But I must have a lot of stamina. I was hardly ever sick. (Laughs).”
Sandara Park, who has a huge amount of stamina despite her frail girlish looks, was able to make it through her endless schedule with her optimistic personality. When we saw Sandara smile brightly as she talked about how she made a lot of memories while running around the broadcasts stations to follow her hectic schedule after her debut, we could feel the love and affection she feels towards the Filipinos.
The person that the Filipino broadcast company chose for Sandara to be paired up with for her ‘love team’ was Hero Angeles, winner of ‘Star Circle Quest’. Next to Sandara always stood Hero Angeles.
►►2NE1’s Dara, “They made us eat stuff like mice, lizards, chicken heads..”
This is a continuation of 2NE1 Dara’s series of interviews with Asia E.
Sandara Park first entered the entertainment industry in a foreign country, and is the prime example of a Korean returning to Korea to debut in their motherland.
In the time between 2003 when Sandara Park became famous in the Philippines, and her return to Korea, she gained a huge amount of popularity. They say it was to the point that if you didn’t know Sandara Park, you weren’t a native Filipino.
When she returned after being active in the Philippines, Korean fans gave her the nickname of ‘the BoA of the Philippines’.
”Becoming a celebrity in the Philippines was a coincidence. One day my friend suggested I try audition for the Filipino TV station ABS-CBN’s ‘Star Circle Quest’. I decided to try thinking it would be a good experience for me, and the results turned out unexpectedly good.”
‘Star Circle Quest’ is the Filipino equivalent of FOX’s ‘American Idol’ in the U.S.A and MNet’s ‘Super Star K’ of Korea, and was a very popular programme in the Philippines at the time, in 2004.
Although immigrating to the Philippines made her silent after being trapped by the obstacles of culture and language barriers, Sandara never gave up on her dream of becoming a celebrity. Her parents reassured her with promises that once she graduated high school, they’d send her back to Korea again. ‘Star Circle Quest’ was a chance that approached the young Sandara who was counting down the days til her high school graduation.
”I couldn’t speak Tagalog at all at the time. I was the first Korean to audition. I didn’t know anything so everything I did seemed clumsy and awkward. It must’ve seemed like a fresh new image to them at the time. I think I was lucky.”
►►2NE1’s Dara, “I cried everyday …I thought I was mute” + Childhood photos!
Sandara. A Korean name meaning ‘wise and intelligent’.
Originates from General Kim Yoo Shin’s childhood name. A singer, and part of 2NE1.
Since she was little, Sandara Park (26) particularly liked cassette players and microphones. The field she was most interested in was ‘fashion’. She liked dressing up as a child and often wore flared pants as was the trend, and finished off the look with a fashionable hat. It may have been that she was subconsciously preparing to become an artist in the future.
”My parents tell me that my favorite toy when I was little was a cassette player with a microphone attached to it. I can’t really remember. (laughs) I knew after seeing a photo of myself. I remember liking clothes though. I’ve had an interest in clothes since I was little. I don’t even know why. It might have been that I had a fun time choosing and putting on different clothes.”
Sandara Park was born in Pusan and moved to Daegu in her third year of primary school. Sandara, who did a very good job as the eldest of looking after her siblings for her working parents, started filling in the ‘future dreams’ column of her student record as ‘Celebrity’ the second she heard Seo Tae Ji’s ‘I Know’.
”Seo Tai Ji & Boys debuted when I was in Year 2. Their music, outfits and dances made me dream of becoming a celebrity. Child actors on TV drove me too. At the time, watching kids my age acting on TV made me think ‘Man, I wanna do that too’.”
►►2NE1’s Dara, “YG told me I did really bad on TV…but other members cheered me on”
It’s hard being an idol living in the ‘World of Variety’. This is because it’s hard to gain popularity just by being a good singer. To survive in the monstrous entertainment industry, one must be equally good at singing and dancing, AND be witty. They have to show laser-like charisma on stage, and are also expected to approach the viewers on variety shows by being frivolous and funny.
I realised something one day while watching TV. On some variety show’s ‘Girl Group Special’, all the famous female idol groups like Girls’ Generation, Kara and Brown Eyed Girls were there but 2NE1 was nowhere to be seen. Then I looked back and realised I’d never seen 2NE1 on any broadcasts except music shows.
It made me curious. What could their secret be? How does 2NE1, a girl group that doesn’t do ‘variety’, manage to walk their own path and still stand strong against all their competition?
So we open the diary of 2NE1’s Sandara Park, the self proclaimed ‘publicity gainer’ for the group. The single most famous example of a Korean artist debuting in Korea after being active in a foreign country’s entertainment industry, Sandara Park made her TV debut through “Human Theatre”, neither a music nor variety show. 4 years and 5 months after that, Sandara and her fellow 2NE1 members took the Korean music industry by storm.
►►Top 40 songs from K-pop Yearly Chart of 2009
wow FT Island really need to step their game up next year 😦 on the other hand, Gavy NJ made the list?! that’s so freakin awesome!! haha they are such underrated yet talented singer (a lot of you may not even heard of them)…
►►ETN’s Top 10 Best Looking Members of Kpop Idol groups!
This is co-ed, guys, meaning both boy and girl idols 🙂 (umm…Wonder Girl Sohee? why not Sunmi or SunYe? =.=;)
10: ‘FT아일랜드’ FT Island’s Lee Hongki
9: ‘빅뱅’ Big Bang’s TOP
8: ‘슈퍼주니어’ Super Junior’s Siwon
(more…)
►►[VIDs] Family Outing episode 72 with 2NE1’s Dara & After School’s Uee~ eng subbed!
Thanks much to rssubs@YT for subbing!
►►Caught on Cam: Mblaq’s Mir & Thunder copy their sisters!
For those who didn’t know, Mir’s sister is actress Go Eun Ah & Thunder’s sister is 2NE1’s Dara. During an interview (I’m not sure which, but it’s recent), they were asked (?) to imitate their own sismters and this is what they did:
lol! Mir is cute & Thunder is lookin pretty gangster thar~ keke
Thanks to xootwisted@soompi for the caps!
►►2NE1’s Me2day: Dara & CL update~ 11/17 – 11/22/09
Sorry for slacking off on the girls’ Me2day updates, guys >.<
11/17/09
Dara: 안녕~!? 난 싼펭구인~!^.^ MAMA 연습끝나고 숙소로 돌아가는중…열심히햇으니 가서 일찍 잘거에요! 오늘은 푸욱~!!아스크림먹고싶넹냠냠냠… 그럼 오늘 하루도 수고하셧습니다!^.^/
“Hi there~!? I’m Ssan-penguin~!^.^ MAMA practice is over and I’m back in the apartment…We did well today and finished early! Today is pook~!! I want to eat ice cream…I’m hiding under the covers again today like before!^.^/”
11/18/09
Dara: 발성연습중…!!!노래는 언제나 즐겁다
“During vocal practice…!!! This song is always fun.”
►►Who worked it better? 2NE1’s Dara vs. Beyonce!
A clever Black Jack just noticed Beyonce and Dara has the same shirt from Beyonce’s “Video Phone” MV (feat. Lady Gaga) and Dara’s “Let’s go party” live perf:
►►Top celebrities netizens want to date on the first day of snow
I wish there is a poll for guy celebs too…I would vote for hmm..1) 2PM’s Taecyeon 2) Beast’s DooJoon 3) SHINee’s Key (LOL I think this’ll be fun) and the list goes on and on…:-D
SNSD’s Jessica was chosen as #1 for “female celebrity you would want to most date on the first day of snow.”
Music site Monkey3 had a poll from November 13th to 18th asking, “Which female celebrity would you choose to date on the first day of snow?” Jessica was voted #1.
Jessica was chosen by 239 people (30%) out of 729 people polled. Jessica is not only in SNSD, but she has also been on stage in a musical and is very active in the entertainment business.
2. f(x)’s Sulli 24% (194 people)– a netizen commented the reason: “She would be very happy at the sight of snow and run around like a kid.”
►►Family Outing criticized for favoritism: more UEE screen time than 2NE1 Dara
Geez I know UEE is like ‘the IN thing’ in Korea but that doesn’t mean she should get any more screen time than Dara…for once I agree with the netizens 😛
If it’s not enough that Family Outing’s October 15 episode’s rating dropped during the second half of the show, viewers and netizens are now causing chaos on the show’s message boards about the apparent “favoritism” of the show’s two female guests.
The ratings of the show dropped when viewers realized that the episode would focus more on After School’s UEE, as opposed to 2NE1’s Sandara Park.
Fans of the popular girl group, 2NE1 and its member, Dara, protest saying that they barely see the girls and Dara nowadays, what with their hiatus, while After School’s UEE has CFs, broadcasts, plus a drama where her fans can see her.
2NE1 fans protest, saying that, “The last broadcast of Family Outing was biased on UEE, and as Dara fans, we are offended by it.”
They added, saying, “Sandara Park is afraid of dogs, and does not eat egg yolks, but the show’s producers did not care about this or even consider it.”
Korea has actually seen little of Dara Park and the girls of 2NE1 apart from me2day updates and some performances of the girls in universities, and of course, Park Bom’s solo stages for the promotion of her single, “You and I.” Viewers and fans have noticed that Dara had lesser interactions with the members of the show’s family and lesser screen time, and this, unfortunately, caused their ire.
Some fans say that they are actually tired of seeing UEE everywhere, as evidenced by her solo CFs and a recent drama, not to mention her group activities also. This fact gained a lot of criticism for the show for focusing on the guest who is more active currently.
Cr: 21evo.com
►►Dara’s younger siblings spark interest among netizens
I didn’t know she had a younger brother and younger sister? Dara is the prettiest of course..but they all look really good ^^
The resemblance in the looks between Sandara Park and her sister is enough to show that they are sisters even without saying so – from their big eyes, double eyelids, and translucent skin.
Netizens say that her name is Park Durami
Sandara Park’s younger brother, Park SangHyun
►►2NE1’s Me2day: Dara updates~ 09/04 [TRANSLATED]
Dara is so diligent in updating everything and sharing them with us ^^
“나는~ 옥슈슈가~~조아요~!!! 맛있따!!!^.^”
“I love corn so much ~~~ It’s so delicious!! ^.^”
►►2NE1’s Me2day: Dara & CL updates~ 09/02 [TRANSLATED]
New! see Dara’s other updates from 09/02 HERE.
“탐탐이의성별을 궁금해하시는분들이많아 제가 직접탐탐아빠에게물어봤죠 “탐탐이는여자야남자야?” 물었봤더니 “탐탐이는그냥탐탐이에요” 라는… 네..탐탐이는그냥탐탐이인걸로밝혀졌습니다!!!”
“DARA : there are a lot of people who’s wondering about tamtam (her stuffed animal)’s gender, so i asked tamtam’s daddy. “Is tamtam a girl of boy?”, and then he said, “tamtam is just tamtam”… (LOL asexual!!!) yeah..tamtam turned out that tamtam is just tamtam!!!”
Cr: Dara’s me2day + 21evo
►►Dara and Lee Min Ho sitting on a tree~ K-I-S-S-I-N-G!
and this time, I mean what I said! For their upcoming “Cass Beer” CF collab, Lee Min Ho and 2NE1’s Dara shared a kiss…and fans are ready to get jealous!
Cr: michibangs @ soompi l DCinside + shared by kpoprants@wp
►►2NE1’s Dara to release a solo single on September 7th + 2NE1’s next promotions
Why so soon? Big Bang members didn’t go solo after promoting for only 3 months…@_@
Amongst 2NE1, while there have been rumours that the main vocals Park Bom and rapper CL are also preparing for solo songs, Sandara suddenly announced a solo song. It can be said to be quite unique, given that 2NE1’s special promotions are always hard to predict.
‘Kiss’ has a danceable rhythm like Lollipop and is said to be very catchy and appealing. 2NE1’s CL will be making a rap featuring adding to its strength. It is said to express the wishes of girls for their guys to be more honest when approaching girls and give them a kiss. It’s a song that will show Sandara Park’s charm with her strong pop vocal abilities.
YG Entertainment said “2NE1 is a group where each individual member has a strong personality. It is planned that, beginning with Sandara Park’s song ‘Kiss’, each member will, by turn, show their own charms” and announced that other members are of course also preparing for their own solo songs.
ALSO: ABOUT THE FOLLOW UP SONGS!
2NE1 on this week’s SBS Inkigayo will start with ‘Pretty Boy’ then each week following, the songs will be performed in order (‘Stay Together’, ‘Let’s go Party’, etc.). The members said “For this we had to practise a lot but we wanted to give our best and show our fans a good image”.
Cr: newsen + translation by gee@ygladies.com
Interesting…I guess I’ll see if it fits my taste. But for now, I’m kinda uncertain because no offense but Dara’s voice is currently the weakest in the group..maybe the other members are better so they’re saved for last?
►►2NE1’s Me2day: Dara updates~ 09/02 [TRANSLATED]
DONUTS! yum!! LOL
“탐탐아.. 너 누구닮은거같다..???넌 토끼니 사자니?ㅋㅋㅋ너의 정체가뭐야!!!ㅋㅋㅋ”
“Tam Tam.. You look like someone..?? Are you rabbit or lion? kkk who are you!! kkk”
►►2NE1’s Me2day: Dara & CL update~08-31 + Dara ~08-30 [TRANSLATED]
haha Dara can be sooooo random at times >.<
“외과의사 춘선생!어제아침 체한 싼토끼..두드려도안되고 약을먹어도안되자 춘선생이 코디분에게 바늘을 빌려서 내 손가락을 톡~! 따주엇다.. 덕분에 무사히 무대를마칠수있었다ㅋ이젠 허춘이라불러야하나?ㅋ”
Rough trans: Dara had stomachache, so bom pricked her finger with a needle, and then dara got better
* pricking a finger is a kind of medical treatment in korea.
►►Who worked it better? FT Island’s Hongki vs. 2NE1’s Dara
LOL here comes another special edition of “Who worked it better?”!
This time we have the ultimate diva of FT Island, Lee Hongki vs. the cutie pie of 2NE1, Dara!
☆Kpop Rants☆ 
