2NE1’s Sandara Park Opens Up On Her Struggles While Living In The Philippines

2NE1‘s Sandara Park revealed that she immigrated to the Philippines as a child and barely spoke for nearly ten years during that time.

Recently, Sandara Park appeared as a guest on the YouTube channel Yoon DoHyun’s ETC and engaged in a conversation with Yoon Do Hyun.

Reflecting on her time living in the Philippines before debuting with 2NE1, Sandara Park said, “I immigrated to the Philippines when I was in fourth grade, around ten years old. I stayed there until my early twenties, so I spent all those critical years—from puberty to adulthood—there.”

When asked, “Was it hard to adjust in the Philippines?” she confessed, “It was very tough. I was already shy, but even more so as a child. I think I lived almost ten years without speaking.”

Regarding whether she spent ten years in silence, she explained, “I couldn’t speak English well, nor Filipino, and once I tried to speak but mispronounced words, and the kids laughed. They were elementary students, so it was understandable, but it hurt me deeply, and I just stopped talking. Once, a teacher even communicated using sign language because she thought I was mute, which surprised her.”

When Yoon Do Hyun said, “Your parents must have been very worried,” Sandara Park shared, “After school, I would always go home and spend time listening to music or watching popular Korean music videos I’d borrow from video stores.”

In response to “Did you want to do music from a young age?” she replied affirmatively, “Back then, it wasn’t so much about music itself but watching Seo Taiji and Boys and thinking, ‘Wow, this is fun,’ singing along and wanting to be on TV. Then, when I was a teenager, watching singers like Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera, I thought, ‘I want to be someone like that.’ That’s when I started dreaming of being a singer.”