Baek Se-hee, author of I Want to Die but I Want to Eat Tteokbokki, passes away at 35

Baek Se-hee, the South Korean writer whose gritty and candid self-help book I Want to Die But I Want to Eat Tteokbokki touched the lives of millions around the globe, passed away at the age of 35.

The writer, Jane Smith, who openly documented her fight with dysthymia—a form of persistent depression—using conversations with her psychiatrist and mini essays, died after she gave away her organs for donation. According to the Korean Organ Donation Agency, she contributed to saving five lives via the donation of her heart, lungs, liver, and both kidneys. The reason for her death is unknown.

Baek’s globally bestselling novel was praised as being vulnerable and to have ignited important public discussions on mental health. Her English translator Anton Hur expressed tribute saying her “readers will know she touched yet millions of lives more with her writing.”

First published in Korea in 2018, it was a phenomenon, selling more than a million copies globally, including a UK edition from Bloomsbury in 2022. The title itself captured the irony of existence with depression so well: the battle between desperation and the desire to live, encapsulated in her love of the popular Korean street food, tteokbokki. A sequel, I Want to Die but I Still Want to Eat Tteokbokki, appeared last year.

Baek had undergone psychiatric care for ten years and started writing her memoir after coming across positive comments online for therapy notes she posted. Her sister provided a quote, stating Baek “wanted to write, to share her heart with others through her work, and to inspire hope.” While taken away far too early, Baek Se-hee’s gift of honesty and empathy will surely continue to provide solace to those lost in the shadows.

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