Bona (singer)

1. Early life and education

Bona was born on August 19, 1995,^[4][5] in Dalseo District, Daegu, South Korea and attended high school in the same city.^[6] Bona was a trainee under Cube Entertainment before joining Starship Entertainment in 2013.^[7]

2. Career

2.1. 2015–2020: Music career debut with WJSN as Bona and acting debut

She was revealed to be a member of WJSN 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".^[8][9]

In 2017, she made her acting debut in the KBS2 drama Hit the Top,^[10] and was cast as the female lead in the teen drama Girls' Generation 1979.^[11] She made a cameo in Radio Romance in 2018, before her second lead role in Your House Helper.^[12][13] Bona was revealed to have joined the cast of Law of the Jungle in Northern Mariana Islands.^[14][15]

In 2020, Bona joined the KBS2 drama Homemade Love Story, playing as Lee Hae-deun.^[16] She earned the Best New Actress at the 2020 KBS Drama Awards^[17] for her acting in the series.^[18]

2.2. 2022–present: Rise in popularity and credited in full name

In 2022, Bona rose to prominence for her role as a world champion and gold medalist fencer alongside Kim Tae-ri and Nam Joo-hyuk in the tvN drama Twenty-Five Twenty-One.^[19] The drama became one of the highest-rated Korean dramas in cable television history.^[20]

After scheduling conflicts with the filming of Twenty-Five Twenty-One, Bona joined WJSN in the third round of Mnet's competition show Queendom,^[21] which the group ultimately won in June 2022.^[22]

2.2.1. Credited as Kim Ji-yeon

In March 2023, Kim starred in the historical legal revenge drama Joseon Attorney (2023) as a princess during the Joseon period.^[23]

In February 2024, Kim under her full name starred in the series Pyramid Game (2024) as Sung Soo-ji of Class 5 at Baekyeon Girls' High School, who was bullied in the school under the pretext of a game.^[24]

3. Discography

3.1. Soundtrack appearances

List of soundtrack appearances with selected chart position, showing year released and album name

Title	Year	Peak chart position		Album
		KOR
		Gaon [25]	Hot [26]
"With"[27] (with Choi Hyun-wook, Kim Tae-ri, Lee Joo-myung, and Nam Joo-hyuk)	2022	40	54	Twenty-Five Twenty-One OST

4. Filmography

4.1. Television series

Key

†	Denotes television productions that have not yet been released

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
2017	Hit the Top	Do Hye-ri		[28][29]
	Girls' Generation 1979	Lee Jung-hee		[30][31]
2018	Radio Romance	DJ Jay	Cameo (Episode 3)	[32]
	Your House Helper	Im Da-young		[33][34]
2020–2021	Homemade Love Story	Lee Hae-deun		[35]
2022	Twenty-Five Twenty-One	Ko Yu-rim		[19][36]
2023	Joseon Attorney	Lee Yeon-joo		[37]
2024	Pyramid Game	Sung Su-ji		[38]
2025	The Haunted Palace	Yeo-ri		[39]
2026	Dive into You	Yoon Ha-na		[40]

4.2. Television shows

Year	Title	Role	Ref.
2018	Law of the Jungle in Northern Mariana Islands	Cast member	[15][14]

5. Accolades

5.1. Awards and nominations

Name of the award ceremony, year presented, category, nominee of the award, and the result of the nomination

Award ceremony	Year	Category	Nominee / Work	Result	Ref.
Asia Artist Awards	2022	Popularity Award – Actor	Bona	Nominated	[41]
		Best Acting Performance	Twenty-Five Twenty-One	Won	[42]
Brand of the Year Awards	2021	Acting Idol of the Year (Female)	Bona	Won	[43][44]
KBS Drama Awards	2017	Best New Actress	Hit the Top, Girls' Generation 1979	Nominated	[45]
		Best Actress in a One-Act/Special/Short Drama	Girls' Generation 1979	Nominated	[46]
	2018	Best Couple Award	Bona (with Ha Seok-jin) Your House Helper	Nominated	[47]
	2020	Best New Actress	Homemade Love Story	Won	[17]
Korea Culture and Entertainment Awards	2022	Excellence Award, Actress	Twenty-Five Twenty-One	Won	[48]
Korea Drama Awards	2022	Best New Actress		Won	[49]
Korea First Brand Awards	2019	Female Idol-Actor Award	Bona	Won	[50]
	2020	Best Idol Actress	Homemade Love Story	Won	[51]
MBC Drama Awards	2023	Excellence Award, Actress in a Miniseries	Joseon Attorney	Nominated	[52][53]
		Best Couple Award	Bona (with Woo Do-hwan) Joseon Attorney	Nominated
SBS Drama Awards	2025	Top Excellence Award, Actress in a Miniseries Humanity/Fantasy Drama	The Haunted Palace	Won	[54][55]

5.2. Honors

Name of country or organization, year given, and name of honor or award

Country or Organization	Year	Honor or Award	Ref.
Newsis K-Expo Cultural Awards[1]	2024	Seoul Tourism Foundation Award	[56]