Sandara Park

Sandara Park (born November 12, 1984), better known as Dara, is a South Korean singer and actress born in Busan, South Korea. She was a member of the girl group 2NE1, formerly signed under YG Entertainment.

Dara is seen as one of the most in influential Korean celebrities in the Philippines since she participated as a contestant during the first season of Star Circle Quest in 2004, in which she finished as the runner-up. Following the end of the competition she signed with Star Magic and began her music career with the self-titled mini album "Sandara".

After 2NE1s disbandment in late 2016, Dara remained signed to YG Entertainment as a solo singer and actress.

Early life and career
Dara was born as Park Sandara on November 12, 1984 in Busan South Korea. Her parents Park Ik Su and Park Kyung Ran Kim named her after the General Kim Yushin, whose childhood name was San Da Ra. She has two younger siblings named Park Durami and Park Cheon Dung, latter known as Thunder, former member of MBLAQ.

In 1995, following her father, Dara and the rest of her family moved to the Philippines. In school she met former ABS-CBN Corporation Channel 2's Talent Center talent Pauleen Luna. Luna encouraged Dara to participate in the 2004 audition for Star Circle Quest, a reality-based talent search television program. During the run of the show, she gained fame and finished in second place behind Hero Angeles.

After the end of the show, Dara signed with Star Magic and appeared in numerous movies and released her self-titled debut mini album "Sandara" which contained the dance hit "In Or Out" a song that parodied her experiences on Star Circle Quest.

2004-08: Pre-debut activities in South Korea
After seeing Dara in the KBS Documentary "My Name Is Sandara Park", YG Entertainments CEO Yang Hyun Suk offered her workshop classes in December 2004. She decided to join the workshops, putting her activities in the Philippines on hold. On August 01, 2007 Dara left the Philippines and the entertainment industry there permanently to join YG Entertainment in South Korea.

In 2008, she was cast as Rie, a supporting role, in the MBC drama series "The Return of Iljimae" and later appeared alongside BIGBANG member T.O.P in the music video for "I'm Sorry" by Gummy.

Mini Albums

 * "Sandara" (2004)
 * "Ang Ganda Ko" (2006)

Collaborations

 * "Kiss" (ft. CL) (2009)
 * "Hello" (G-Dragon ft. Dara) (2009)