Dara reveals her favorite places in Korea

As member of popular K-pop group 2NE1, Dara is busy with her schedule including appearances, rehearsals and concerts. Whenever possible, however, she explores different places in South Korea that she would recommend to Filipino tourists eager to visit the Asian country.

“In Korea, usually I just stay at home but if I have time, I go to Jeju Island. It’s so beautiful there just like in the Philippines. It has beautiful beaches and resorts and delicious food,” said Dara in Tagalog as she held her “talk show” and fan signing events on Feb. 15 at the 22nd Travel Tour Expo held at SMX Convention Center in Pasay City.

Dara flew to Manila from Singapore last Feb. 13 to promote South Korea as a top tourist destination at the travel expo.

She also visited the expo’s Korean medical tourism pavilion hosted by Korea’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism with the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) as organizer, Korean Cultural Center in the Philippines as partner and the Korean Embassy in the Philippines and the Philippine Travel Agencies Association (PTAA) as sponsors.

Asked what other places in Korea she tells tourists to visit, Dara said, “Seoul, including Gangnam.”

“I also have favorite places like Dongdaemun for its 24-hour shopping; and Shindangdong Tteokbokki Town where the whole street is filled with tteokbokki (rice cake snack) stores, a place where I usually bring my friends,” she said.

Dara said in order to stay fit, “I usually go to the gym if there’s no work. I do workouts especially if we have concerts because we have to sing and dance for two hours. It’s exhausting so we have to exercise regularly.”

Meeting fans

At the expo, Dara sang her 2004 single “In Or Out” with Filipino fan boys. The song is from her album “Sandara” released in the Philippines years ago.

She was overwhelmed by number of fans that dropped by the expo to see her.

“Hindi ko ini-expect na ganito karami ang tao,” she said.

After the talk show, Dara visited the Korean medical tourism pavilion to hold a fan-signing event.
Jessica Juan, president of the Philippine K-pop Committee Inc. (PKCI), told Bulletin Entertainment that PKCI and 2NE1 Philippines fan club helped in selecting about 100 fans for the event.

Throngs of fans crowded the Korea pavilion who were eager to see Dara.

“Iba talaga kayo!!!Kayo na ang the BEST!!! Wala ako masabi. Sobrang natouch ako at sobrang saya..!!! Maraming salamat,” Dara posted on Twitter after the fan-signing event.

Philippines as second home

Dara is one of South Korea’s most popular stars but despite her success, she has not forgotten her Philippine roots.

“Ito ang second home ko. Dito ako nagsimula. Parang naho-homesick ako kapag hindi ako nakakapunta rito,” she said.

Her proficiency in Tagalog and English is a result of many years spent in the Philippines where she grew up. She also established a showbiz career in the country before becoming a member of 2NE1 in 2009.

Upon her arrival last Feb. 13, she tweeted, “Manila!!! I’m back!!! Salamat sa inyong lahat,” along with a photo of flower bouquets given by fans.

On Valentine’s Day, Dara appeared as guest on the ABS-CBN noontime show “It’s Showtime.” She also met celebrities, including Luis Manzano and apl.de.ap of the The Black Eyed Peas.

She received trophies from the PKCI’s 6th Philippine K-pop Awards held last December where 2NE1 was voted as Best Female Group; 2NE1’s “Crush” as Album of the Year; and 2NE1’s CL as Hottest Female.

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