Sandara Park

Sandara Park in the 6th Asia Song Fastival, in 2009

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.[15] 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.[16]

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.[17] For her performance, Park won Best New Actress at the 21st PMPC Star Award for Movies.[5] Park and Hero Angeles collaborated again for the 2005 movie Can This Be Love, which reportedly grossed almost 100 million pesos.[5] Her third movie was 2006's D' Lucky Ones, in which she was paired with Star Circle Quest alumnus, Joseph Bitangcol.[5] In the same year, her fourth, Super Noypi, was shown in December and was an official entry in the 32nd Metro Manila Film Festival.[18]

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.[19] 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.[1]

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.[20] 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.[21]

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".[22] That same year, the group released their first EP, 2NE1,[23] 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.[24]

Park also made her solo Korean debut in 2009. She was featured on the single "Hello" from Big Bang member G-Dragon's album Heartbreaker, and later released her first solo single, "Kiss", which featured fellow 2NE1 member CL as a rapper.[10] 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.[25][26] Park again teamed up with a Big Bang member in 2010, when she made an appearance as the female lead in Taeyang's "I Need A Girl" music video.[27]

During this era, 2NE1 continued to release hit albums and songs, including "I Am the Best" (2011), "I Love You" (2012) and "Falling in Love" (2013), which topped the majority of charts in South Korea[28] and made the group the second South Korean artists after Psy to top the U.S. Billboard World Digital Songs chart.[29]

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.[5]

Park at Twin Towers Alive Event Malaysia, in 2013

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.[30] 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. Park also appeared on Gandang Gabi, Vice!, one of the most popular talk shows in the Philippines hosted by Vice Ganda.

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.[31] 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.[32]

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.[33] 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. The comedy sketch went viral, and reached over a million views in the few days after release.[34]

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.[35] Expectations were high as the series featured Park in her first leading role since returning to South Korea,[36] coupled with the involvement of director Kwon Hyeok-chan (Secret Garden, Master's Sun).[37] 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.[38]

The same month, Park featured in label-mate Jinusean's stage for their single "Tell Me", on You Hee-yeol's Sketchbook.[39] 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.[40]

Park then took on her second leading role in We Broke Up, a web-drama based upon a web-toon of the same name.[41] 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.[42] Due to the positive reception, the cast held a personal 'mini concert' on August 17.[43] 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.[44]

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'.[45] 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.[46]

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.[47] The first episode was broadcast on October 20.[48] 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."[48] 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.[49]

Park started the year 2016 with a special appearance in the MBC drama One More Happy Ending,[50] as a beloved but spoiled star of a popular girl group.[51] The producer of the drama expressed the difficulty of casting an actress who could play the role, as the character's beauty was meant to overshadow characters played by actresses like Yoo In-na, Jang Na-ra, Yoo Da-in, and Seo In-young. It was because of Yoo In-na that they came in contact and the matter was resolved.[52] Park also participated in the promotional single "Loving U" as part of the drama's soundtrack.[53] Park was officially promoted from being YG Entertainment's public relations head to director.[54] 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. The show is based on the format created by Simon Cowell and was first shown in U.S. through La Banda.[55] The show premiered on September 10, and became the most watched weekend program,[56][57][58] and the second highest program in television viewership nationwide.[59] As the show was still filming the day after 2NE1 announced their disbandment, Park became the first member to respond after the event by way of handing a handwritten letter in English to fans on November 26, 2016, and allowing them to upload the contents on her behalf. YG also revealed that Park and CL had signed solo contracts, hinting at the departure of Park Bom from the company.[60]

In 2017, Park became the host of OnStyle's beauty program Get It Beauty, alongside Honey Lee and Gugudan's Kim Se-jeong.[61] Park then starred alongside Han Jae-suk in her domestic debut film One Step. Billed as the Korean remake of Begin Again,[62] she portrayed Si-hyun, a convenience store part-timer who seeks out a mysterious melody she hears every night in her dreams, and meets the producer of an Internet broadcasting program who tries to help her find out the music.[45][63] The film premiered in South Korea on April 6, 2017, and opened on May 10, in the Philippines. She 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.[64] Park participated in another OnStyle project titled Relationship Appeal, where she reviewed trending topics and travel to popular tourist spots.[65] Controversy arose when rude remarks directed at Park were made during MBC's SeMoBang: All Broadcasting in the World collaboration segment with Piki Pictures mobile variety team 'This is Real'. The concept was for the MCs to 'overhear' the constructive criticism of everyday netizens (picked by the 'This is Real' team) by separating the two groups with a thin wall. Viewers who watched the program criticized the teams selection and expressed discomfort with the remarks as they were believed to be personal attacks made in a subjective way. Piki Pictures issued an apology soon after and MBC deleted the video featuring the incident.[66] Park closed the year by performing 2NE1's past hits in a solo headlining concert, one year after the band's disbandment.

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.[67] The film premiered exclusively in CGV theatres on March 14,[68][69] and placed among the top five at the weekend box office.[70] This was followed by a leading role in an indie Vampire action film directed by Lee Won Jun, titled 107th Year of Night,[71] which went on to win the category “Foreign Suspense Thriller Award” at the 2018 International Horror Hotel Festival for the Short Film Division at Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.. The year also continued Park's increased regular appearances on television with Mimi Shop,[72] Borrowing Trouble, and MBC's Real Man 300.[73]

In January 2019, 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.[74] During that month, Park became a permanent co-host for the all-female talk show Video Star.[75] Park reunited with former 2NE1 bandmate Park Bom as a featured artist for her single, "Spring", which was released on March 13.[76][77] Park also became a judge and advisor in Stage K, a K-pop challenge variety television show, which premiered in April 2019.[78]

In 2020, Park made her musical debut through the stage adaptation of the (tvN) drama Another Oh Hae-young,[79][80] and is set to cameo in the melodrama Shall We Have Dinner Together as a patient seeking physiological help to remedy her eating habits.[81][80]

In popular culture, Sandara is the icon of "baby-face" amongst celebrities and the public, which is an individual who looks younger than their actual age.[84][85] Despite being born in the early 80s, Sandara is known to top and beat other competitors in surveys, often with a large gap between their ages, thus earning herself the nickname "vampire" for her youthful skin and look.[86][87] She is noted for having the ideal facial proportions, called "the golden ratio" by plastic surgeons.[88] Attesting to the quality of her skin, she was described to be a popular choice for both advertisers and consumers, who would be drawn to her clear and seemingly poreless face. In 2012, she was announced to be one of the most beautiful women of her time (1980s).[89]

Park features some of the most iconic and memorable styles in the Korean industry, ranging from her signature tail lilt eye make-up, to her bold hair styles and clothing.[90][91] Labeled a pioneer of unconventional trends, her first appearance in Lollipop sporting her 'palm-tree' hairstyle became the most famous and widely parodied style in 2009 and remains an iconic piece in K-pop.[92][93] In particular, her 2012 look, for which she had shaved a portion of her trademark locks for the promotional single "I Love You", attracted massive media attention and initially garnered mixed reactions, but was nonetheless praised for its shock factor and contradictory styling to the typical girl-group 'look'.[94][95] The style is considered to be her most noteworthy transformation.[96]