Kyung Ja Bae is a familiar name in the music circles of Southern California as teacher and adjudicator. She has over 40 years of private teaching experience and also has taught over 14 years at Bethesda University. She has served as president of MTAC Orange County Branch, president of Musical Arts Club of Orange County, Chairperson of MTNA Baldwin Junior National Piano Competition, Music Program Chairperson Of Pacific Symphony Celeste Guild. She is currently serving as Chairperson for State Solo and Concerto Competition and CM Panel in Orange County Branch. Her students has won many prestigious competition titles including Young Artist Guild, State Solo and Concerto in Southern State, Grand Prize of Cypress College Piano Competition. Many of her students have majored in Piano and moved on to major universities such as Juilliard, Peabody, Eastman, New England Conservatory, Indiana University and locally UCLA, USC, CSU (Fullerton and Northridge) and Chapman University.

While growing up, she won all major competitions in Korea and was awarded the Minister of Education Special Grand Prize Award in a nationwide competition at age nine. At age eleven, she played the Mozart D-minor Piano Concerto with Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra and at age fifteen, she performed the Liszt Piano Concerto No. 1 with Korean National Symphony in subscription series, which was broadcast nationally.

She received her BA and MM degrees from Seoul National University and a second Master's degree (MFA) from Carnegie-Mellon University with Harry Franklin. She worked toward a DMA degree at Cleveland Institute of Music with Grant Johannesen. She also had many years of private study with Eunice Norton of Pittsburgh who was a pupil of legendary Artur Schnabel and Tobias Mathay.