Baek Se Hee, author of 'I Want To Die But I Want To Eat Tteokbokki', dies at 35

The South Korean author of the bestselling memoir "I Want to Die But I Want To Eat Tteokbokki," has passed away.

Baek Se Hee was 35 at the time of her death.

She was best known for her therapy memoir, which touched on her struggles with depression and centred on conversations with her psychiatrist.

According to the Korea Organ Donation Agency, Baek saved five lives through organ donation, reported The Korean Herald.

She had donated her heart, lungs, liver and kidneys.

"I Want to Die But I Want To Eat Tteokbokki" legacy

Baek's memoir was first published in 2018 and became known for its "plain-spoken honesty and its effort to dismantle the stigma surrounding mental illness" in South Korea.

According to a synopsis by Bloomsbury Publishing, Baek was a successful social media director at a publishing house when she began seeing a psychiatrist.

She expressed feeling "persistently low, anxious, endlessly self-doubting, but also highly judgemental of others".

The book focuses on her dialogues with her psychiatrist over a 12-week period and was described as a "part self-help book".

The book has been translated and published in more than 25 countries, including the United Kingdom, Germany, Spain and Italy.

Baek was in Singapore in November 2024 for the Singapore Writers Festival.

She was featured in a meet the author session and participated in a panel discussion.

Top photos from @sentido90 Instagram & Bloomsbury Publishing