‘Lying about age and dating’: 2NE1’s Sandara Park responds to criticism

Sandara Park / Courtesy of Abyss Company

By KTimes

Sandara Park, a member of the group 2NE1, revealed that she once lied about her age and went on dates with a 14-year-old boy. As criticism mounted, her representatives urged people to refrain from reckless speculation and slander.

In May last year, Sandara Park shared a video on her YouTube channel featuring her daily life with fellow 2NE1 member Minzy. The video captured their conversation, during which Park recalled an incident from her past.

“A guy approached me and asked for my number. He was so cute that I gave it to him. He told me he was 14 years old. At the time, I was 19, just before my debut. I lied and said, ‘I’m 16,’ and we went on a few dates. We played the whack-a-mole game, basketball, and watched a movie,” she said. After hearing the story, Minzy laughed and said, “That boy got scammed.”

As the story of Park resurfaced, online criticism quickly followed. Some netizens left the comments on her YouTube video, calling out her past actions.

In response, Park’s team addressed the controversy in a YouTube comment, saying, “We have re-edited parts of the video that could be misunderstood depending on cultural perspectives.” They added, “We ask that people refrain from reckless speculation, baseless assumptions, and malicious slander against the artist. We will take strict legal action against any acts that defame the artist’s reputation through continued monitoring.”

This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.