Bae started playing badminton at aged 10, and first gained international attention in 2006 when she reached the semifinals in the women's singles and won the gold medal as a member of the South Korean mixed team at the
BWF World Junior Championships. Bae joined the South Korean national team in 2008 and in the same year she won her first international title at the
Indonesia International tournament. In 2010, she became the runner-up at the
BWF Superseries Finals after being defeated by
Wang Shixian of China with the score 21–13, 21–15. In 2012, she competed at the
London Summer Olympics in the
women's singles event, and was defeated by
Wang Yihan in the round of 16. In 2013, she won the
Korea Masters tournament after beating her team-mate
Sung Ji-hyun with the score 21–19, 15–21, 21–9. In 2016, she competed at the
Rio Summer Olympics and was defeated in the last 16 by eventual bronze medallist
Nozomi Okuhara. Bae was one of four Korean players who announced that they would be retiring from the national team at the end of the tournament. == Achievements ==