Though their personality or talents may not be to my taste, one thing I will always admire about entertainers is their ability to survive in such a cutthroat business. And yes, that includes Sandara Park.
Eons and eons ago, when us k-pop fans barely knew what a 2NE1 was (or if we would like it) we did know the members of this intensely hyped girl group, and Dara was given a head start above all the others, due to a small set of (presumably) scandalous photos.
That landed her on many netizens’ hit lists- though honestly it doesn’t take much- but it was hard to reconcile the leather whips and dark makeup with the bubbly, dust mop-haired 2NE1 member. Interestingly, Dara finally revealed the sequence of events behind the pictures in a recent interview.
‘She accepted as [the photoshoot] was the suggestion of one of her seniors who worked for a broadcast company that also ran a magazine. She believed it when she was told she would just have to wear a skirt and a top. ‘UNO’, the magazine that offered Sandara her photo shoot was actually a prestigious male magazine.
“I’m on the petite side so I was called a ‘primary school kid’ in the Philippines a lot. I accepted the photo shoot offer because I wanted to show a different side of me.”
But when she arrived at the scene, they demanded a bikini shoot. Though she was hesitant, Sandara had been working without a manager and lacked the experience to amend the situation, especially when all the preparations had been made. It was just one result of a just-matured young lady working in the entertainment industry without a manager.
But the photo shoot that passed by without any problems in the Philippines was made a big deal back in Korea. It was revealed too late in Korea last April and started up the ‘Sandara Park sexy photo shoot’ controversy.
The pictorial showed Sandara Park in the Philippines in 2006 wearing heavy make up, a black corset and bikini etc. for ‘UNO’. Some people said cruel things like ‘Sandara must’ve really needed the money’. They do say that the most unexpected crises hurt the most. Sandara had remained calm talking about herself until now, but she showed sorrow and regret while recollecting these events.
“I was really upset when people said things like ‘She did it because she needed money’. I was just trying to follow their customs, they didn’t even tell me I had to do the shoot.”
It made her even sadder to see her family in pain because of her.
“My parents were really shocked. I’d never regretted becoming a celebrity. I’d never even felt sad or angry that I had to give up my privacy. But when I saw my family watch as the public made assumptions and misjudged me, I felt regretful. It was really hard for me.”‘
Not an uncommon scenario for females in the entertainment business by any means, but she has some of my respect nonetheless. Also, interesting to note the differences highlighted between Filipino and Korean celebrity culture. The rest of Dara’s interview, which gives decent insight into her personality, delves into this issue several times and I find it fascinating! Well, excuse me, but I think I have some research to do…
Credit: Translations Credits - sjay.x @ YGLadies.com
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