Kim Ji-yeon (; born August 19, 1995), better known by her stage name Bona, is a South Korean singer and actress. She is a member of the South Korean-Chinese

girl group A girl group is a music act featuring several female singers who generally harmonize together. The term "girl group" is also used in a narrower sense in the United States to denote the wave of American female pop music singing groups, many of who ...

WJSN WJSN (; ), also known as Cosmic Girls, is a South Korean girl group formed by Starship Entertainment. The group debuted on February 25, 2016, with the extended play ''Would You Like?'' and with twelve members: Seola, Xuanyi, Bona, Exy, Soobi ...

, and also its sub-unit WJSN The Black. She made her acting debut in the

KBS2 The Korean Broadcasting System (KBS) () is the national broadcaster of South Korea. Founded in February 1927, it is one of the leading South Korean television and radio broadcasters. KBS operates seven radio networks, ten television channels, a ...

drama ''

Hit the Top ''Hit the Top'' () is a South Korean television series starring Yoon Shi-yoon, Lee Se-young, Kim Min-jae and Cha Tae-hyun. The drama aired on KBS2, from June 2 to July 22, 2017, on Fridays and Saturdays at 23:00 ( KST) for 32 episodes. ''Hit t ...

'' (2017), and was cast as the female lead in the teen drama ''

Girls' Generation 1979 ''Girls' Generation 1979'' () is a South Korean television series based on the 2009 novel of the same name by Kim Yong-hee. The drama slated for eight episodes with 1970s Daegu as the backdrop. It premiered on KBS2 on September 11, 2017, and aired ...

'' (2018). Most recently, Bona gained recognition for her portrayal as world champion and gold medalist fencer Ko Yu-rim in the

tvN TVN may refer to: * TVN (Australian TV channel), a former horse racing channel * Televisión Nacional de Chile, a public broadcaster * TVN (Indonesia), a former television station; predecessor of Rajawali Televisi * TVN (Norway), or TVNorge, a comm ...

drama ''

Twenty-Five Twenty-One ''Twenty-Five Twenty-One'' () is a 2022 South Korean television series directed by Jung Ji-hyun and starring Kim Tae-ri, Nam Joo-hyuk, Bona, Choi Hyun-wook and Lee Joo-myung. The series depicts the romantic lives of five characters spanning ...

'' (2022).

Early life and education

Bona was born on August 19, 1995, in

Dalseo District Dalseo District (Dalseo-gu) is a district in western Daegu, South Korea. It borders Dalseong-gun on the north, south, and west, and Seo-gu and Nam-gu on the east. It has a population of about 610,000, and an area of 62.27 square kilometers. The ...

Daegu Daegu (, , literally 'large hill', 대구광역시), formerly spelled Taegu and officially known as the Daegu Metropolitan City, is a city in South Korea. It is the third-largest urban agglomeration in South Korea after Seoul and Busan; it is ...

, South Korea. She graduated from Dongguk Girls' High School.

Career

Pre-debut

Before joining Starship Entertainment, Bona was a trainee under

Cube Entertainment Cube Entertainment Inc. () is a South Korean entertainment company. The company operates as a record label, talent agency, music production company, event management and concert production company, and music publishing house. Cube are known for h ...

and trained with them before joining

Starship Entertainment Starship Entertainment () is a South Korean entertainment company founded in 2008 and became an independent subsidiary of Kakao Entertainment in 2013. They had been recognized for their contributions to the Hallyu Wave, being home to several ...

in 2013.

2016–present: Debut with WJSN and solo activities

She was revealed to be a member of

and its Wonder Unit on December 15, 2015, and proceeded to debut with them on February 25, 2016, with their debut mini-album ''Would You Like?'' and the single "MoMoMo". In 2017, she made her acting debut in the

drama ''

'', and was cast as the female lead in the teen drama ''

''. She made a cameo in '' Radio Romance'' in 2018, before her second lead role in ''

Your House Helper ''Your House Helper'' () is a 2018 South Korean television series based on a webcomic of the same title which was first published in 2014 by KTOON and lasted on the said platform for three seasons. The series stars Ha Seok-jin, Bona, Lee Ji-ho ...

''. Bona was revealed to have joined the cast of '' Law of the Jungle in Northern Mariana Islands''. In 2020, Bona joined the KBS2 drama ''

Homemade Love Story ''Homemade Love Story'' () is a South Korean family drama television series starring Jin Ki-joo and Lee Jang-woo. The drama aired on KBS2 from September 19, 2020 to March 7, 2021, every Saturday and Sunday from 19:55 to 21:15 ( KST). Synopsis ...

'', playing as Lee Hae-deun. She earned the Best New Actress at the 2020

KBS Drama Awards The KBS Drama Awards () is an awards ceremony presented by the Korean Broadcasting System (KBS) for outstanding achievements in Korean dramas aired on its network. It is held annually on 31 December. The highest honor of the ceremony is the "Gra ...

for her acting in the series. In 2022, Bona rose to prominence for her role as a world champion and gold medalist fencer alongside

Kim Tae-ri Kim Tae-ri (born April 24, 1990) is a South Korean actress. She is known for starring in the films ''The Handmaiden'' (2016), ''Little Forest (film), Little Forest'' (2018), ''Space Sweepers'' (2020) and in the historical drama ''Mr. Sunshine ( ...

and

Nam Joo-hyuk Nam Joo-hyuk (Korean: 남주혁; born February 22, 1994) is a South Korean model and actor. He began his career as a model, and appeared in several music videos before making his screen debut in 2014 with ''The Idle Mermaid''. He rose to promin ...

in the tvN drama ''

''. The drama became one of the highest-rated Korean dramas in cable television history. After scheduling conflicts with the filming of ''Twenty-Five Twenty-One'', Bona joined WJSN in the third round of

Mnet M-Net (an abbreviation of Electronic Media Network) is a South African pay television channel established by Naspers in 1986. The channel broadcasts both local and international programming, including general entertainment, children's series, ...

competition show '' Queendom,'' which the group ultimately won in June 2022.

Discography

Soundtrack appearances

Filmography

Television series

Television shows

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1995 births Living people People from Daegu South Korean women pop singers South Korean television actresses 21st-century South Korean actresses 21st-century South Korean singers Mandarin-language singers of South Korea Starship Entertainment artists Cosmic Girls members South Korean female idols 21st-century South Korean women singers