Actress Bona has recently grabbed attention for her impressive acting in the just-concluded Twenty-Five Twenty-One as Ko Yu-rim, a young Korean fencing legend and a gold medallist. Born Kim Ji-yeon, better known by her stage name Bona, the starlet has gained the love and sympathy of fans for portraying a character who cares deeply about her family and maintains a good attitude and warm friendship with her peers despite life’s difficulties. View this post on Instagram A post shared by BONA (@bn_95819) But what else is there to know about the rising star – who’s also a K-pop idol and a lover of the great outdoors? Here are five interesting facts about Bona. 1. She debuted as part of Korean-Chinese group, WJSN View this post on Instagram A post shared by BONA (@bn_95819) In 2016, Bona debuted as a K-pop idol with Korean-Chinese girl group WJSN (which stands for wonder, joy, sweet and natural), also known as Cosmic Girls. She remains active as one of its thirteen members and is considered the group’s lead dancer, vocalist and rapper. She is also part of its subunit WJSN The Black. 5 times Blackpink’s Lisa proved she’s Thailand’s unofficial princess 2. She’s often fittingly cast in throwback coming-of-age dramas Fresh-faced and full of youthful charm, the 26-year-old actress is often cast in high school, coming-of-age dramas – and she suits those roles to a T. While she is currently generating buzz because of her success in Twenty-Five Twenty-One , her performances in Hit the Top (her acting debut) and Girls Generation 1979 are worth attention, too. While Twenty-Five Twenty-One begins during South Korea’s International Monetary Fund crisis in 1997, Hit the Top is set in the 90s and Girls Generation 1979 takes viewers back to Daegu province in the 70s. All three dramas are narrated in the same manner – in a different timeline from the present – and likewise portray slice-of-life stories that revolve around groups of young friends who are becoming adults and navigating the real world. 3. She’s close friends with Blackpink’s Jisoo View this post on Instagram A post shared by BONA (@bn_95819) The two connected after Bona openly declared during a fan-signing event that she wanted to be close to Jisoo . Bona also frequently commented on the girl group member’s Instagram. On a local radio programme, Bona shared how she and Jisoo have similar communication styles, seldom texting and taking a long time to reply. “When Jisoo and I message each other, we only exchange, like, one or two texts a day. Jisoo is like me. We are similar in that way,” Bona is quoted in a Kpopstarz report. The Blackpink member, meanwhile, sent a food truck and visited her friend on the set of Twenty-Five Twenty-One . She also recently posted photos of them hanging out to her Instagram Stories. 5 things to know about Park Seo-joon, Marvel’s next Korean star 4. She’s a certified scuba diver View this post on Instagram A post shared by BONA (@bn_95819) In an Instagram post in 2018, Bona shared her certification as an open water scuba diver. This was during the time she was a cast member in the Northern Mariana Islands edition of the reality show Law of the Jungle, where celebrities are taken to far-off locations around the world to take on challenges. 5. She’s known as a “selfie fairy” View this post on Instagram A post shared by BONA (@bn_95819) 5 K-drama actresses who married ultra-rich husbands According to Allkpop, Bona revealed that she’s good at being an aegyo (cute) girl, even though it doesn’t come naturally to her. On fandom websites, she is described as the group’s “selfie fairy” for her pretty smiles and flawless photos. Want more stories like this? Follow STYLE on Facebook , Instagram , YouTube and Twitter .