Nayoung

Nayoung (I.O.I): From “Stone Nayoung” To Leading Lady

Lim Na-young, better known simply as Nayoung, is one of the clearest examples of a Produce 101 trainee who turned a reality-show moment into an actual career. Born December 18, 1995, in Seoul, she trained under Pledis Entertainment for years before the world ever saw her face on television — and once they did, she became one of the most memorable leaders in K-pop’s third generation.

Nayoung’s story starts with Produce 101 season one, where she represented Pledis Entertainment alongside several labelmates. She finished 10th overall, just enough to make the final eleven-member lineup of I.O.I, and was chosen as the group’s leader. I.O.I debuted in May 2016 with “Chrysalis” and its title track “Dream Girls” — a song whose intro lyrics Nayoung actually helped write herself. Fans nicknamed her “Stone Nayoung” during this era for her calm, unreadable expression on camera, a nickname that’s stuck around ever since.

When I.O.I disbanded in January 2017, Nayoung didn’t have to wait long for her next chapter. Pledis Entertainment debuted her as leader of PRISTIN just two months later, and she later joined the group’s sub-unit PRISTIN V in 2018. PRISTIN disbanded in 2019, and rather than chase another idol group, Nayoung made a clean pivot: she signed with Sublime Artist Agency to focus on acting, eventually landing under her current label, ASCENDIO.

That pivot paid off. Her acting resume now includes “Flower of Evil” (2020), where she played the younger version of the female lead, plus starring roles in “Imitation” (2021), “The Distributors” (2022), “Udong Dangdang Family” (2023), and the film “4 Minutes 44 Seconds” (2022). She’s built a real, varied filmography spanning thrillers, family dramas, and music-industry stories — not something every former idol manages to pull off.

Then came 2026. To mark I.O.I’s tenth anniversary, Nayoung reunited with eight of her former members to release the mini album “I.O.I: LOOP,” playing directly into her reputation as one of the group’s defining leaders. For longtime fans, it’s the kind of full-circle comeback that reminds everyone why she was chosen to lead the group in the first place — steady, dependable, and still very much a part of the story a decade later.