“I was ashamed of my Filipino accent” says 2NE1’s Sandara Park

Sandara Park, former member of K-pop girl group 2NE1, admitted that she was ashamed of her Filipino accent.

Park (34) was born in Busan, South Korea but moved with her family to the Philippines in 1994 where she lived and studied for 11 years.

She joined a local celebrity search in 2004 and got famous for her ditzy and kooky stage persona.

English and Filipino are the country’s official languages, so Park learned English early on. She has a good command of English, but has recently revealed that she was once ashamed of her Filipino accent.

“I was embarrassed by my accent at first… Philippine English has a unique accent,” Park said during an episode of the talk show Video Star.

However, she had a change of heart after touring overseas as a member of international K-pop group 2NE1. Dara, as she is now known, learned that the accent was merely a characteristic of Philippine English.

“Many people told me it was cool and matches me well. I became more confident thanks to them.”

The programme’s hosts even praised her English skills.

Park joined as a 2NE1 member in 2009 and released popular hits such as “Fire” and “I Don’t’ Care.” When 2NE1 disbanded in 2016, Park continued her career as an actress, singer and TV personality both in Korea and the Philippines./TISG

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Back in 2009, the four of us in 2NE1 were excited on what the world had to offer. We didn’t expect that we would be given the best fans in the world. We didn’t expect that we would have fans in many parts of the world. To countries who don’t speak and understand our language. We are very grateful that Blackjacks embraced us. And because Blackjacks were everywhere, we were able to go to different countries. To places we only see on maps. 10 years later, you are still here for us. Through joys and tears. Even when we had drastic hairstyles and outrageous stage costumes, you still loved and supported us. I can’t believe how much you mean to us — 4 Korean girls who just wanted to perform onstage. We can’t thank you enough for the love. How we all wish we can thank each one of you and give you a hug. But I hope this message would be enough for now to show you how much Blackjacks mean to us. Thank you. I love you.

A post shared by Sandara Park (@daraxxi) on May 17, 2019 at 8:14am PDT