2NE1's Sandara Park criticised for dating a 14-year-old at 19 and lying about her age

A clip from a past episode of K-pop star Sandara Park's YouTube show Dara Tour recently made its rounds on social media, with the 2NE1 member herself drawing criticism for an incident she recounted. 

While hanging out with her bandmate Minzy, Park, 40, spoke about how she was approached by “a cute guy” many years ago.

“He was so cute so I gave him my phone number. Turns out, he was 14 years old,” she said. The revelation drew a surprised gasp from Minzy. 

Park continued: “I was 19, and it was just before I made my debut. But I lied ‘cos it was the only chance I had. I was like, 'I’m 16'. We went on a few dates, we would play whack-a-mole and basketball games at the arcade, and also watch movies.”

When Park subsequently made her debut with 2NE1, it was basically public information that she was 19. 

“I stopped reaching out [to him] after that,” she concluded. 

Minzy then chuckled as she said: “The boy was scammed.”

What Park probably meant as a cute anecdote has received renewed attention from netizens, with many saying her actions were “wrong” and “problematic”.

Some even went as far as to say she was being “predatory”, and some stated that what she did could have been more of an issue “if the roles were reversed”. 

While the boy was, without a doubt, a minor, the legal age in South Korea is 20, meaning that Park could still be considered a minor as well at that time.

There were also fans who were defending her, with some saying that the whole situation was “blown out of proportion”. Some also defended her saying that Park and the boy only went on dates and “nothing inappropriate happened between them”. 

The controversial portion of the conversation has since been removed from the video, with her production team stating that “some parts have been re-edited to avoid potential misunderstanding that may arise due to cultural differences”.

Park's team also asked that viewers stop “spreading unfounded speculations, misinterpretations, or malicious comments” about her, adding that they would take legal actions against those who try to defame Dara’s reputation. 

The statement did little to appease netizens.

Many still maintained that Park was wrong for lying to the boy, with some questioning how her story could be labelled as “unfounded speculations” if she was the one who told it in the first place. 

“Cultural differences do not excuse her behaviour, and by bringing up the story after so many years, it looks like she has never reflected on it and still finds it funny,” asserted one netizen.

This story was originally published in 8Days.