When Baek Yo Sun was 26 years old, she decided to pursue acting, a lifelong dream, before it was “too late.” But soon after, her “rock bottom” arrived, and she decided to dissect her life into two to sustain herself financially and emotionally.
In 2017, Baek Yo Sun signed up for an acting class, leading her to small theatre projects in Daehakro, the theatre district of Seoul. It took immense courage on her part to embark on this journey after being conditioned for so long into believing that being an actor requires something extraordinary.
When I was in high school, the prevailing belief was that only ‘special’ people could be actors – those who are exceptionally pretty or extraordinarily talented.
—Baek Yo Sun
At that time, Baek was working as the chief operating officer of Bisecu, a startup producing smart locks for bikes. In 2019, she quit her job and broke up with her boyfriend of over eight years. Despite the difficult circumstances, Baek was determined to follow her passion and set off to find herself an agency. But every door she knocked on told her she needed to lose weight despite her already being 56 kg at 170 cm of height. One agency advised, “You should aim to weigh no more than 48 kilograms.“
As the age of 30 approached her fast, Baek was left feeling lost, as if she had achieved nothing significant. And then, COVID-19 hit the world, forcing everyone to self-isolate. Baek suffered panic disorder symptoms during this time, which she described as her “rock bottom.”
In August 2020, however, she found a way to bounce back after being motivated by an influencer named Kim Yarn. Kim had shared a similar journey of pursuing her passion of becoming a writer despite her financial difficulties.
Kim began her career as a writer while also continuing to work as a dental hygienist, earning 2 million won ($1,497) a month. It resonated with me so much.
—Baek Yo Sun
After seeing Kim, Baek realized that having a steady job that keeps her financially afloat while also allowing her to pursue acting was the best course of action. So, she re-entered the startup industry and joined a company called Wisely. Now, she works at a local venture capital firm called The Ventures. Her main job is to manage human resources consulting for startups.
By day, Baek might be a consultant, but at night and during the weekend, she slips into the role of an actor. So far, she has appeared in numerous short films and movies, including Carrier Woman, directed by Hwang Dong Uk, which was invited to the 27th Busan International Film Festival. The previous year, the 49th Seoul Independent Film Festival featured her other movie, The Initial Memories, co-directed by Ahn Sun Kyoung and Jang Kun Jae.
Baek has also co-authored a book, My x Unnie, which was released in 2022. The book talks about her personal struggles and her experience of eventually becoming roommates with Kim Yarn. Her readers connected so much to her story that Baek decided to continue posting about her life on a personal blog.
Despite enjoying her budding careers in two such drastically different fields, Baek admitted that it was not easy to juggle these two worlds. Sometimes, when she pushes herself a bit extra to accommodate the demands of both professions, she confesses that she is often faced with this question: “What am I doing?” However, there is also a point of reconciliation between her two jobs. Baek explained that her day job allows her to stay in touch with entrepreneurs who have an innovative mindset and bring different worldviews to the table, which allows her to witness and learn various human behaviors to use in her performance eventually.