Baek Se-hee, the South Korean author whose memoir I Want to Die but I Want to Eat Tteokbokki became a landmark work in mental health literature, has died at the age of 35.
First published in 2018, the book, a candid collection of conversations with her psychiatrist about her struggles with depression, struck a chord with readers in South Korea and beyond. Its unflinching exploration of the tension between suicidal thoughts and the desire to find small joys resonated deeply in a society where mental health remains a sensitive topic.
The memoir’s English translation, released in 2022 by Bloomsbury Publishing, further expanded her international audience. It has sold over a million copies worldwide and been translated into 25 languages.
Baek passed away on October 16 in a hospital in Goyang, northwest of Seoul. Although the exact cause of death has not been officially disclosed, local media reported that she was declared brain-dead prior to her passing. In a final act of generosity, Baek donated her heart, lungs, liver, and kidneys, saving five lives, according to the Korean Organ and Tissue Donation Agency (KODA). Reported BBC.
Her sister, Baek Da-hee, paid tribute: “My sister, whom I loved most, wanted to share her heart with others through her writing. Knowing her gentle nature, incapable of hatred, I hope she can now rest peacefully.”
Baek’s writing was celebrated for normalising conversations around depression and therapy. One of the book’s most famous lines captures the essence of her message: “The human heart, even when it wants to die, quite often wants at the same time to eat some tteokbokki too.” Tteokbokki are spicy Korean rice cakes, a popular comfort food symbolising life’s simple pleasures.
Her sequel, I Want to Die but I Still Want to Eat Tteokbokki, published in Korean in 2019 and in English in 2024, continued her reflections on chronic depression, self-doubt, and healing.
Anton Hur, the translator of her memoir, shared his condolences on Instagram, acknowledging how Baek’s writing touched millions of lives beyond those saved through her organ donation.
Tributes have flooded social media, with many expressing gratitude for her honesty and the comfort her work brought to those facing similar struggles. “To create a single book that can lift people up is no easy task, and I have indescribable respect for you for achieving that,” one commenter wrote.
Baek Se-hee’s legacy endures as a beacon of empathy and hope in the ongoing dialogue about mental health.
