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Actor

1999-09-29 · Seoul, South Korea · Female

49 series in the catalog

Choi Ye-na (Korean: 최예나, born September 29, 1999), known mononymously as Yena, is a South Korean singer and actress. She is a soloist and actress under YH Entertainment, and a former member of South Korean–Japanese girl group Iz*One, having finished fourth on Mnet's reality girl group survival show Produce 48. 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. As a child, she was diagnosed with lymphoma.

Pre-debut

Choi is a former Polaris Entertainment trainee before joining YH Entertainment. She 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 members Kim Si-hyeon and Wang Yiren) represented YH Entertainment on reality girl group survival show Produce 48. She eventually placed fourth and debuted with Iz*One. The group's debut extended play (EP) Color*Iz was released on October 29, 2018, with "La Vie en Rose" serving as its lead single.

Following her debut with Iz*One, Choi became a cast member for Prison Life of Fools, alongside Got7's JB, Jang Do-yeon, Jeong Hyeong-don 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'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 on January 17. She made her broadcast debut on Mnet's M Countdown 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.

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

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

On May 16, 2025, Choi was featured in BTS's Jin's song, "Loser" in the album Echo. Choi released her fourth EP Blooming Wings on July 29. Choi released the Japanese digital single "STAR!", featuring Vocaloid Hatsune Miku, on November 26, under Victor Entertainment.

On January 21, 2026, Choi released the Japanese version of Nemonemo. Choi released her fifth EP Love Catcher on March 11.

Production credits

All song credits are adapted from the Korea Music Copyright Association's database unless stated otherwise.