Kim Chae-yeon

Kim Chae-yeon — From Child Actor to Boni Hani to tripleS S4

On September 10, 2026, a new YouTube channel opened under a name that translates as "13th-Year Rookie Kim Chae-yeon." The first video was titled "YouTuber Kim Chae-yeon's Journey Begins (with Kian84)," and its first guest was the cartoonist and TV personality Kian84. The channel name sums up her career. She started out as a child actor, debuted in the girl group Busters in 2017, served as "Hani" on EBS's Live Talk! Talk! Boni Hani from 2019 to 2021, and joined tripleS in 2022 as S4.

tripleS introduces members by S number before their names, so searches for Kim Chae-yeon often include "S4." The number is not a rank or a popularity order. It is the label that identifies each member.

At a Glance

Three Starts — Timeline

• Child-actor years She worked as an actor from childhood and earned appearance fees. In her first YouTube video in 2026 she said she had never spent that money.
• November 27, 2017 Debuted with the girl group Busters. The debut song was "Dream On." A December interview gave the members' average age as 14.4 and listed Chaeyeon as 13. She said she had been street-cast into training and originally dreamed of acting.
• January 1, 2019 – March 26, 2021 Hosted EBS's Live Talk! Talk! Boni Hani as "Hani," a run of about two years and three months.
• July 2021 Signed an acting contract with YK Media Plus and switched her stage name to her birth name, Kim Chae-yeon.
• June 2022 Her move to tripleS was reported, and she was introduced as S4.
• February 13, 2023 Debuted with tripleS on the first EP ASSEMBLE.
• December 24–31, 2025 Played Seong Jin-a in the ice musical Solo Leveling on Ice, her first musical.
• September 10, 2026 Opened her personal YouTube channel.

Because her career moves between acting, girl-group stages and children's TV hosting, her group stages, variety clips and stage-show footage are very different kinds of material. Knowing which period and role a clip comes from makes them much easier to sort.

S4 Inside tripleS — Her Units

tripleS has 24 members in full, and fans vote through "Gravity" to decide unit (dimension) line-ups and songs. Following one member therefore leads through several line-ups. These are Kim Chae-yeon's unit activities confirmed in news reports.

The full-group releases ran from ASSEMBLE in 2023 ("Rising") to the first full album ASSEMBLE24 on May 8, 2024 ("Girls Never Die") and the second full album ASSEMBLE25 on May 12, 2025 ("Are You Alive"). Her places in both the ballad unit Aria and the performance-heavy EVOLution show that she has covered both vocal and performance stages.

2026 — "LOVE & POP" Parts 1 and 2

• June 1 The 24-member full group released ASSEMBLE26 'LOVE & POP' pt.1. The lead song "Baby Flower" came with tracks including "Sad Girls Schemin'," "Peer," "Type of Girl," "Sleek," "I Like That" and "Me Myself Mode," and a showcase was held the same day at Blue Square in Hannam-dong, Seoul. It is the first chapter of a project that tells one story across three full-group albums.
• October 16 Part 2 arrived as the single ASSEMBLE26 'LOVE&POP' pt.2 with the lead song "Andless." It was the first 24-member release in about four months, and the "&" in the title links Part 1, "LOVE," with the coming Part 3, "POP."
• North American tour According to an October 16, 2026 report, "ANDLESS in North America" starts in Toronto on November 11 and visits cities including New York, Chicago, Fort Worth, Los Angeles and Vancouver. Check tripleS's official channels for detailed dates and tickets.

Off the Stage — Variety, YouTube and the Ballpark

• November 2025 Appeared on Kian84's YouTube content Insaeng84.
• May 27, 2026 Appeared on the YouTube show No Ppakku Tak Jae-hoon and said she knew about her fancam with more than 13 million views.
• April 2 and October 14, 2026 Threw ceremonial first pitches at LG Twins games. At Game 1 of the KBO Wild Card series (LG vs. Doosan) at Jamsil on October 14, she asked the LG cheer squad if she could cheer with them and went up on the cheering stage after her pitch. She later explained on the fan platform COSMO that she had originally been scheduled only for the first pitch.
• September 10, 2026 In the first video on her own channel she talked with Kian84. She said, "I haven't spent a single won of the appearance fees and earnings I've made since I was little." The money is in an account her mother set up. When she turned 20 her mother offered to hand it over, but she declined, so her mother, a former bank employee, still manages it and she lives on an allowance.

Choosing Fancams and Stage Videos

1. "Rising" (2023) — The group's debut song and S4 Kim Chae-yeon's starting point, before the unit era.
2. "Cherry Talk" (2023) — A four-member +(KR)ystal Eyes stage, so one member's movement and expressions are easy to follow.
3. "Invincible" (2023) — The eight-member EVOLution performance with a hard-edged concept.
4. "Door" (2024) — The vocal-centered stage of the ballad unit Aria.
5. "Girls Never Die" (2024), "Baby Flower" and "Andless" (2026) — Full 24-member stages. Watch the full stage for her position in the formation and an individual fancam for her movement.

Searching by song title alone mixes group stages with fan edits, so adding "tripleS," "S4" or the unit name makes the right video easier to find.

FAQ

What does S4 mean? It is the unique number tripleS gives each member. It is not a rank or a skill order. Searching "tripleS S4" helps separate her from other people named Kim Chae-yeon and from the solo singer Lee Chae-yeon.

Is she the Hani from Boni Hani? Yes. She was the "Hani" host of EBS's Live Talk! Talk! Boni Hani from January 1, 2019 to March 26, 2021.

Was she in Busters? She debuted with Busters on November 27, 2017. tripleS is her second girl-group debut.

What has she been doing recently? On October 16, 2026 she began promotions for the 24-member tripleS single "Andless," and a North American tour is scheduled to start in Toronto on November 11 (as reported on October 16). On October 14 she threw the first pitch at a KBO Wild Card game.

Does she have a personal YouTube channel? Yes. "13th-Year Rookie Kim Chae-yeon," opened on September 10, 2026, is her personal channel.

Has she been in a musical? She played Seong Jin-a, the younger sister of the lead Seong Jin-woo, in the ice musical Solo Leveling on Ice at the Mokdong Ice Rink in Seoul from December 24 to 31, 2025. The run has ended, and no restaging has been confirmed.

Related Pages

• tripleS — All 24 members, unit line-ups and the full-group album history
• Girl Groups — Girl groups active in the same period
• Fancams — Fancams by member
• Dance — Stages viewed through choreography and formations

Sources Checked

The sources below are Korean-language articles unless noted.

• TV Report 2026-09-11 — First YouTube video, conversation with Kian84
• News Culture 2026-10-16 — "LOVE&POP" pt.2 "Andless" release and North American tour
• Soompi 2026-10-11 (English) — pt.2 release date announcement
• Ilgan Sports 2026-10-15 — KBO Wild Card first pitch and cheering
• My Daily 2026-06-02 — "LOVE & POP" showcase and remarks on No Ppakku Tak Jae-hoon
• Star News 2026-06-01 — ASSEMBLE26 "LOVE & POP" pt.1 showcase
• Sports World (via Nate) 2025-11-30 — Former Boni Hani hosts today, msnz sun
• Sports Kyunghyang 2025-11-12 — Cast in Solo Leveling on Ice
• Sports Kyunghyang 2025-05-12 — ASSEMBLE25 full-group comeback
• Korea Times 2024-05-09 (English) — ASSEMBLE24 and "Girls Never Die"
• Sports Kyunghyang 2024-01-25 — Aria "Door" debut stage
• Nocut News 2023-10-11 — EVOLution debut showcase
• Newsis 2023-05-04 — +(KR)ystal Eyes "AESTHETIC" release
• Insight 2023-11-23 — Her period as Boni Hani's Hani
• Wikitree 2021-07-21 — YK Media Plus contract and name change
• MK Sports 2017-12-20 — Busters debut interview

Official Channels

• tripleS official Instagram
• tripleS official YouTube
• tripleS official TikTok
• tripleS official X
• tripleS official Linktree

Information checked: October 26, 2026.