Baek Se-hee, author of I Want to Die But I Want to Eat Tteokbokki, dies aged 35

Baek Se-hee, the author of the hit self-help memoir I Want to Die But I Want to Eat Tteokbokki, has died at the age of 35. According to the Korean organ donation agency, Baek saved five lives through the donation of her heart, lungs, liver and both kidneys. “But her readers will know she touched yet millions of lives more with her writing”, said Anton Hur, who translated her works into English. I Want to Die But I Want to Eat Tteokbokki, published in 2018 in Korea and 2022 in the UK by Bloomsbury, follows Baek’s conversations with her psychiatrist about her dysthymia, which is persistent depression, and includes mini essays. A follow-up, I Want to Die but I Still Want to Eat Tteokbokki, was published in the UK last year. Tteokbokki, Baek’s favourite food, is a Korean dish of rice cakes cooked in a spicy sauce. The first book has sold about 600,000 copies in Korea, and over a million copies worldwide, having been published in more than 25 countries. Born in 1990, Baek studied creative writing at university before working for five years at a publishing house. She received psychiatric treatment for 10 years. The idea for her memoir began after she posted notes from therapy in a blog, and received positive feedback. When one commenter “said it was like a light was shining into the darkness of their life, I was so surprised”, she said in a 2023 interview with PEN. Writing a book had been a “bucket list” item, and “I was having trouble finding the right theme, but I realised something I could write about with some authority was depression.” Baek said that writing “can help you see yourself from different angles,” which “can be a way of regarding yourself three-dimensionally.” Baek “wanted to write, to share her heart with others through her work, and to inspire hope”, said her sister in a statement reported by the Korea Herald. “Knowing her gentle nature, incapable of harbouring hatred, I hope she can now rest peacefully.” The cause of Baek’s death is unclear. • In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email [email protected] or [email protected]. In the US, you can call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org