After spending the last eight months focusing on hit drama "Twenty-Five Twenty-One," singer-turned-actor BONA has returned to her K-pop roots.

Part of the girl group WJSN, otherwise known as Cosmic Girls, BONA has had to sit out a few recent performances with the group due to her existing television commitments. She rejoined WJSN on Thursday to perform on an episode of Mnet’s K-pop survival program “Queendom 2.” It was BONA’s first appearance with the group since starring in the hit drama series.

During the performance, she introduced herself as “BONA who has returned to her main job.”

“I hope that I can be a small help to my group by joining in this round of competition,” BONA said on the show. “It felt weird watching episodes one and two on the television [because] it was where I should have been. So belatedly joining my group, I had a strong desire to do really well.

“And I am having a lot of fun right now! I think I feel my heart fluttering a little bit. I am the happiest when I am on the stage. This is the real BONA.”

BONA was unable to take part in previous episodes of “Queendom 2” due to “Twenty-Five Twenty-One.” “Queendom 2” began on March 31 and eight episodes of the 16-part series have been aired so far.

During Thursday's episode, WJSN performed the song “Pantomime” from its ninth EP “Neverland” (2020). BONA, along with members Seola, EXY and Soobin, surprised the audience by pulling off some aerial stunts during the performance.

“Queendom 2” is the second season of “Queendom” (2019). Six K-pop acts — Brave Girls, Viviz, WJSN, Kep1er, Loona and Hyolyn — are participating in this season’s competition. The program is slated to air until June 2, with new episodes released every Thursday at 9:20 p.m. on Mnet.

After the survival program, the group is slated to hold concerts on June 11 and 12 at Olympic Park’s Olympic Hall in Songpa District, southern Seoul. It has been three years and three months since WJSN last held a concert in front of a live audience in Korea.

BONA holds the center position in WJSN and is the main dancer and one of the vocalists. In K-pop groups, the center is generally given to the member that is deemed by their agencies to have the closest image to the concept of the group. Thus, they often receive the most support and publicity. A center often literally stands in the middle during performances, has the most lines in songs and screen time in music videos, and is prioritized when appearing on TV shows.

BONA debuted as an actor in June 2017 with a supporting role in the KBS drama “Hit The Top.” She steadily built up her acting career since then, starring in six dramas so far including KBS series “Girls' Generation 1979” in 2017 and “Your House Helper” in 2018. Her breakthrough role was as the character Ko Yu-rim in the hit tvN drama “Twenty-Five Twenty-One” which aired from Feb. 12 to April 3.

Set in the late 1990s, “Twenty-Five Twenty-One” portrays the dreams and romances of young people while they also go through major events of the time period, such as the 1997 Asian financial crisis. Depicting and weaving historical events of the era into the plot has earned the series praise, as well as evoking nostalgia. As a result, the series appealed to a wide range of age groups — not only young viewers but also middle-aged Korean viewers who were in their 20s in the 1990s.

For her next acting job, BONA is being considered for a lead role in the upcoming drama "A Joseon Lawyer" (translated), according to her agency Starship Entertainment last week. Based on a webtoon of the same title, "A Joseon Lawyer" is a coming-of-age story about a selfish lawyer named Kang Han-soo during the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910). The role of Kang is being reviewed by actor Woo Do-hwan. BONA is being considered for the role of Lee Yeon-joo, a secretive woman who becomes one of Kang's clients.

As BONA sees her heyday as both a singer and an actor, her fame continues to grow.

According to Brand Reputation Index’s May 2022 report that analyzed individual girl group members’ brand reputation, BONA placed second with 3,285,296 points. She saw a 4.03 percentage point increase from the previous month. Blackpink’s Jennie ranked first with 3,850,732 points. After BONA, Mamamoo’s Hwasa, aespa’s Winter, Blackpink’s Jisoo, Girls’ Generation’s Taeyeon, (G)I-DLE’s Miyeon, Girls’ Generation’s Yoona, Blackpink’s Lisa, aespa’s Karina, Red Velvet’s Joy and Red Velvet’s Irene complete the top 10.

The brand reputation index indicates celebrities' level of fame and likability. It is calculated by the Korea Corporate Reputation Research Institute, which analyzes consumer participation, media coverage, public engagements and communication.

BONA (Kim Ji-yeon)


Date of birth: Aug. 19, 1995
Zodiac sign: Leo
Birthplace: Daegu
Debut: February 2016 as a member of WJSN
Agency: Starship Entertainment

BONA debuted as a member of girl group WJSN, otherwise known as Cosmic Girls, in 2016 with the EP "Would You Like?" and has released songs like "I Wish" (2017) and "As You Wish" (2019). The 13 members of the girl group are EXY, Seola, Xuan Yi, BONA, Soobin, Luda, Dawon, Eunseo, Cheng Xiao, Mei Qi, Yeoreum, Dayoung and Yeonjeong. But after the release of its 5th EP “WJ Please?” (2018), the group’s Chinese members Cheng Xiao, Mei Qi and Xuan Yi, have not performed with WJSN due to activities in China. BONA made her acting debut in June 2017 through a supporting role in the KBS drama “Hit The Top.” Her breakthrough role as an actor was as the character Ko Yu-rim in tvN drama “Twenty-Five Twenty-One” (2022).

This information was confirmed by Starship Entertainment on May 20, 2022.

BY LEE JIAN [lee.jian@joongang.co.kr]