And finally, after a short-lived success in the Philippines, Sandara Park is getting a big break in South Korea where she will be formally launched this month as part of the new Korean pop group 2NE1 (short for 21). The all-female group is slowly but surely becoming popular, with its debut single, Lollipop, already topping music charts.

“Korean fans find Sandara ‘simply adorable’,” according to Funfare’s Big Apple correspondent Edmund Silvestre (of The Filipino Reporter) who called my attention to Sandara’s rising popularity in her homeland.

Only a few years ago, Sandara enjoyed huge success in the Philippines after placing second to Hero Angeles in the first Star Circle Quest of ABS-CBN. What she lacked in acting talent, she more than made up for in her irresistible charm and cuteness.

The tandem’s overnight success was short-lived, though. Hero had a falling out with ABS-CBN, while Sandara left for Korea purportedly to study acting. She didn’t reckon with the sad reality that in showbiz, absence doesn’t really make the fans’ hearts grow fonder. Soon, Sandara was replaced by another chinita, Kim Chiu, then a Pinoy Big Brother Teen winner and now a superstar.

Sandara later came back, only to find herself without any project. She decided to return to Korea for good and was taken by YG Entertainment, a topnotch Korean talent management specializing in hip-hop and R&B music. She initially appeared in music videos and commercials and slowly got noticed by the public.

2NE1 is reportedly being built up as the female version of the popular all-male Korean band Big Bang which performed the song Lollipop with Sandara’s group. The glossy music video (available on YouTube) is a visual delight with first-rate production, and young Koreans love it. Aside from Sandara, 2NE1 is also composed of Park Bom, Lee Chaerin and Gong Minji.

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