Bae is a native of Daegu, South Korea.[3] She was discovered by a Korean stylist who introduced her to the modeling agency YGKPlus.[4] She debuted as a Prada exclusive in 2016, including advertisements;[5] in her second season she walked for Chloé, Kenzo, Loewe, and Christian Dior among others.[5] According to The Fashion Spot, for the spring 2019 season, Bae tied with Dutch model Kiki Willems for having the most bookings.[6]
As of April 2020, Bae ranks as a "Top 50" model on models.com.[8]British Vogue's Rosie Vogel-Eades chose her as one of the top models of A/W 2018 fashion week.[9]
^"Top 50 Models". models.com. A British Vogue cover sealed Yoon Young Bae's sizzling status. It feels like just yesterday a Prada exclusive marked this Korean model's coming-up moment. Things have been good, nay great, for Yoon Young Bae in the international market: campaigns for DVF and Zara and editorial appearances in the best glossies Vogue Japan, i-D, Another, W Korea and a cover appearance on the latest British Vogue is the icing on the cake.