Sandara Park Says Teachers Thought She Couldn't Speak Before Her "Star Circle Quest" Breakthrough

If there’s one Korean celebrity Filipinos have never stopped rooting for, it's Sandara Park. While the 2NE1 member has shared countless stories about her years in the Philippines, her latest interview revisits a chapter fans haven't heard much about.

Speaking on Korean rock musician Yoon Do Hyun’s YouTube show, Sandara looked back on moving to the country as a child, revealing that she was so quiet in school that some teachers thought she couldn't speak.

During the interview, Sandara shared that moving to the Philippines at 10 years old wasn’t an easy adjustment. Since she couldn’t speak English or Filipino at the time, she found it difficult to communicate and assumed she’d eventually return to South Korea after finishing school.

“I didn’t have many friends. First of all, I was shy, and communication was difficult, so I just had the thought that I would go back to Korea after graduation," she recalled.

Sandara recalled that after classmates laughed at her pronunciation, she stopped speaking almost entirely. One teacher even tried communicating with her through sign language, believing she couldn't talk.

“I think I barely spoke for 10 years. I couldn’t speak English and wasn't good at Filipino either. I tried to speak once, but I guess my pronunciation was wrong, because the kids just laughed. It hurt my young heart,” she confessed.

“One time, a teacher spoke to me in sign language, and even they were surprised,” she added. “They thought I was a child who couldn't speak.”

Outside school, Sandara spent much of her free time listening to music and renting Korean videos. She cited artists like Seo Taiji and Boys, Britney Spears, and Christina Aguilera as some of the performers who inspired her dream of becoming a singer.

That dream took an unexpected turn in 2004 when Sandara joined the first season of Star Circle Quest. The reality series turned her into an overnight sensation, and she quickly realized just how much her life had changed. “The very next day after the broadcast, I went to buy a hamburger at a fast-food restaurant, but there was a crowd, so I couldn’t buy one.”

The reality competition launched Sandara into a whirlwind career in Philippine entertainment. She recalls juggling dramas, films, albums, hosting gigs, and provincial appearances, sometimes getting less than an hour of sleep between flights and tapings.

Despite the demanding schedule, those years changed how she saw the Philippines. “With the Filipino fans and friends I made, it really became a second home to me, and I think it became my identity,” she shared.

Sandara admitted that one of the hardest things to process in hindsight wasn't leaving the Philippines itself, but realising the ripple effect her departure had on the people around her.

She recalled that four or five television programs were cancelled after she returned to South Korea, adding that she didn't understand at the time how many colleagues would be affected. Looking back, she said she felt sorry for the co-stars and production staff who unexpectedly found themselves out of work.

“I went toward my dream, but in a way, it seems like it was a really selfish choice. I apologize,” she said.

In a 2023 interview with Luis Manzano, she also admitted regretting leaving the Philippines and spoke about having to start over as a trainee in South Korea despite already being a household name here.

During her conversation with Yoon Do Hyun, she returned to that, explaining that the Philippines remains an important part of who she is. “You could say that while the hardware is Korean, the software is Filipino,” she said.