Choi Ye-na (, born September 29, 1999), known

mononymously A mononym is a name composed of only one word. An individual who is known and addressed by a mononym is a mononymous person. A mononym may be the person's only name, given to them at birth. This was routine in most ancient societies, and remains ...

as Yena, is a South Korean singer and actress. She is a soloist and actress under

Yuehua Entertainment Yuehua Entertainment (; ) is a privately held Chinese multinational entertainment group and talent agency based in Beijing. The company was founded in June 2009 by former Huayi Brothers employee Du Hua. Yuehua is involved in television production ...

, and a former member of South Korean–Japanese

girl group A girl group is a music act featuring two or more women in music, female singers who generally vocal harmony, harmonize together. The term "girl group" is also used in a narrower sense in the United States to denote the wave of American female p ...

Iz*One Iz*One ( ; ; ; stylized in all caps) was a South Korean–Japanese girl group formed through the Mnet (TV channel), Mnet reality competition show ''Produce 48''. The group was composed of twelve members: Jang Won-young, Sakura Miyawaki, Jo Yu-r ...

, having finished fourth on

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, ...

's reality girl group survival show ''

Produce 48 ''Produce 48'' () is the third season of the South Korean reality competition series ''Produce 101''. It was a large-scale project in which the public "produces" a girl group by voting for members out of a pool of 96 contestants from South Kore ...

''. Yena made her solo debut on January 17, 2022, with the release of her first EP '' Smiley.''

Early life

Choi was born on September 29, 1999, in Gil-dong, Gangdong, South Korea. She is the younger sister of singer and actor

Choi Sung-min Choi Sung-min (; born December 7, 1995), is a South Korean actor and singer. Choi debuted as a member of mixed group Coed School in 2010 before joined the male unit of the group Speed in 2012 and continued until the group disbanded in 2015. F ...

. As a child, she was diagnosed with

lymphoma Lymphoma is a group of blood and lymph tumors that develop from lymphocytes (a type of white blood cell). The name typically refers to just the cancerous versions rather than all such tumours. Signs and symptoms may include enlarged lymph node ...

Career

Pre-debut

She is a former

Polaris Entertainment Polaris (; Polaris Entertainment), previously known as Ilgwang Polaris, was a South Korean record label founded in 2006. It was formerly a subsidiary of Ilgwang Group, a large South Korean conglomerate whose main business is arms trade, and is ...

trainee before joining

. Choi was a host for SBS' ''Cooking Class'' in 2017.

2018–2021: ''Produce 48'', Iz*One, solo activities

From June 15 to August 31, 2018, Choi (together with

Everglow Everglow (, stylized in all caps) is a South Korean girl group formed by Yuehua Entertainment. The group is composed of six members: E:U, Kim Si-hyeon, Sihyeon, Mia, Onda, Aisha, and Yiren. Cited as the "ultimate performance boss" by Korean med ...

members

Kim Si-hyeon Kim Si-hyeon (; born August 5, 1999), known mononymously as Sihyeon, is a South Korean singer and actress. She is the leader and vocalist of girl group Everglow, formed by Yuehua Entertainment. Life and career 1998–2018: Early life and caree ...

and Wang Yiren) represented

on reality girl group survival show ''

''. She eventually placed fourth and debuted with

. The group's debut

extended play An extended play (EP) is a Sound recording and reproduction, musical recording that contains more tracks than a Single (music), single but fewer than an album. Contemporary EPs generally contain up to eight tracks and have a playing time of 1 ...

(EP) ''

Color*Iz ''Color*Iz'' (stylized in all caps; pronounced "colorize") is the debut extended play (EP) by South Korean–Japanese girl group Iz*One, a project group formed through the 2018 Mnet reality competition show ''Produce 48''. The album was released o ...

'' was released on October 29, 2018, with "

La Vie en Rose ; ) is the signature song of popular French singer Édith Piaf, written in 1945, popularized in 1946, and released as a single in 1947. The song became very popular in the United States in 1950, when seven versions reached the ''Billboard'' cha ...

" serving as its lead single. Following her debut with Iz*One, Choi became a cast member for ''

Prison Life of Fools ''Prison Life of Fools'' () was a South Korean television program that aired on tvN, as the first part of the Amazing Saturday lineup. It starred Lee Soo-geun, Jung Hyung-don, Kim Jong-min, Hwang Je-sung, Lee Sang-yeob, Jang Do-yeon, JB ( Got7 ...

'', alongside Got7's JB,

Jang Do-yeon Jang Do-yeon (; born March 10, 1985), is a South Korean comedian, signed with KOEN Group. She was a cast member in MBC's variety show, '' We Got Married'', paired with actor Choi Min-yong. Education Jang was a student at Kyung Hee University' ...

Jeong Hyeong-don Jung Hyung-don (; born March 15, 1978) is a South Korean comedian and television host. He is best known for his roles on the variety shows ''Infinite Challenge'' and ''Weekly Idol''. Early life and education Jung was born in Gimcheon in North ...

and many more. On December 21, 2020, Choi was announced as one of the cast members for mystery variety show ''Girls High School Mystery Class''. The show is

TVING TVING () is a South Korean subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming television service operated by TVING Corporation, a joint venture comprising CJ ENM Entertainment Division (CJ Group), Naver and JTBC by its JTBC Studios, now calle ...

's first original content variety show. After Iz*One's disbandment in April 2021, Choi became a cast member of TVING's ''Idol Dictation Contest''. She also joined the fixed MC panels for tvN Story's ''Fireworks Handsome'' and MBC's ''Game of Blood''. On August 6, 2021, Choi was confirmed as the sole MC of Studio Waffle's web variety show ''Yena's Animal Detective''. The web show started airing on August 24. Choi made her acting debut later that year portraying Oh Na-ri in the second season of the web series ''The World of My 17''.

2022–present: Solo debut

On January 1, 2022, Choi announced through her social media that she would make her solo debut with the EP ''

Smiley A smiley, sometimes called a smiley face, is a basic ideogram representing a Smile, smiling face. Since the 1950s, it has become part of popular culture worldwide, used either as a standalone ideogram or as a form of communication, such as em ...

'' on January 17. She made her broadcast debut on

's ''

M Countdown ''M Countdown'' () is a South Korean music program broadcast by Mnet from the CJ E&M Center Studio in Sangam-dong, Mapo District, Seoul. It features appearances by popular music artists who also perform live on stage. First hosted by Leeteuk ...

'' on January 20 performing "Smiley". On February 10, 2022, Choi earned her first ever music show win on Mnet's ''M Countdown.'' Choi released her second EP, ''Smartphone'', on August 3, 2022. In January 2023, Choi released a poster confirming her comeback with her first single album, ''Love War'', on January 16. That month, she was also cast in the

ENA Ena or ENA may refer to: Education * École nationale d'administration, French Grande école, for civil service * Education Networks of America, Internet service provider Government and politics * English National Association, a former poli ...

variety show '' HMLYCP''. Choi released her second single album ''Hate XX'' on June 27, 2023. The title track, "Hate Rodrigo," which Choi co-wrote, refers to American pop-singer

Olivia Rodrigo Olivia Isabel Rodrigo (born February 20, 2003) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. She began her career as a child, appearing in commercials and the direct-to-video film '' An American Girl: Grace Stirs Up Success'' (2015). She rose ...

, and the lyrics describe the concept of a "cute jealousy" towards Rodrigo, who is an object of envy and admiration. The music video for "Hate Rodrigo," posted on June 27, also prominently features images of Rodrigo. Two days after the music video was released, Yuehua Entertainment set the video to private to address "possible violations of trademark rights, portrait rights and copyright." The music video was later re-uploaded with significant edits, including the removal of "many shots that included posters of Rodrigo on the walls." In August 2023, Choi made her Japanese debut with the single "Smiley" (Japanese version), which featured

Chanmina , known professionally as , is a South Korean-Japanese rapper and pop musician. She debuted in 2016 independently, before releasing her major label debut album ''Miseinen'' in 2017. Biography Chanmina was born in South Korea, to a Japanese fa ...

. A second Japanese single, titled "DNA", was released on February 7, 2024. Choi released her third EP ''Good Morning'' on January 15, 2024. In September 2024, it was announced that Choi would be releasing her third single album ''Nemonemo'' on September 30, 2024. On December 18, it was announced that Choi would be returning to acting in the family sitcom '' Villains Everywhere''. Choi was featured in

BTS BTS (), also known as the Bangtan Boys, is a South Korean boy band formed in 2010. The band consists of Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V, and Jung Kook, who co-write or co-produce much of their material. Originally a hip hop group, they ...

's Jin's song, "Loser" in the album ''Echo'' on May 16, 2025.

Discography

Extended plays

Single albums

Singles

Production credits

All song credits are adapted from the

Korea Music Copyright Association The Korea Music Copyright Association (KOMCA) is a South Korean non-profit copyright collective for musical works, administering public performance and broadcasting rights, and mechanical recording and reproduction rights. Founded in 1964, it ...

's database unless stated otherwise.

Videography

Music videos

Filmography

Television series

Web series

Television shows

Web shows

Radio shows

Awards and nominations

Notes

References

External links

Choi Ye-na
at Yuehua Entertainment * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Choi, Ye-na 1999 births Living people South Korean female idols South Korean women pop singers 21st-century South Korean actresses 21st-century South Korean women singers Swing Entertainment artists Yuehua Entertainment artists South Korean dance musicians Produce 48 contestants Iz*One members Hanlim Multi Art School alumni Reality show winners South Korean television actresses South Korean web series actresses Japanese-language singers of South Korea Actresses from Seoul People from Gangdong District Singers from Seoul Circle Chart Music Award winners