Baek Sehee, South Korean Author of ‘I Want to Die, but I Want to Eat Tteokbokki,’ Dies at 35

Arts|Baek Sehee, Korean Writer Who Bared Her Struggles With Depression, Dies at 35

Baek Sehee, the best-selling South Korean author whose frank conversations about therapy and mental health helped her become a cultural phenomenon in her home country and beyond, died on Thursday at 35.

Her death, at a hospital in Goyang, west of Seoul, was confirmed by Kim Yunsik, a spokesman for the Korea Organ Donation Agency. He said her family did not wish to state the cause.

Ms. Baek was best known for her memoir “I Want to Die, but I Want to Eat Tteokbokki,” a deeply personal account of her struggles with depression and anxiety.

The book, published in 2018, includes conversations that Ms. Baek had with her therapist, which she recorded, and essays that explored topics like sexism and self-doubt.

The book was embraced by a broad audience that was drawn to its frank discussion of mental health, especially in South Korea, where stigma and family shame around mental illness persist. In the prologue, she writes: “I realized that opening the dark part in my heart was a very natural thing, just like showing the bright part of it.”

“I Want to Die” was published in 25 countries and has sold over a million copies worldwide.

Ms. Baek told PEN Transmissions in 2023 that the inspiration for the book came from someone who had commented on her blog, where she was posting notes on her experiences in therapy. The commenter said they were experiencing similar emotions, and felt relieved to know someone else was going through the same thing.

“When they said it was like a light was shining into the darkness of their life, I was so surprised,” Ms. Baek said. “All I’d done was be honest in public, but here was someone comforted by that.”

Anton Hur, who translated Ms. Baek’s book into English, wrote on social media on Friday that she had touched “millions of lives” with her writing. As news of her death spread, fans shared personal testimonies on social media about Ms. Baek’s significance.

“Her book was the catalyst to one of the most profound discussions on mental health we’ve ever had,” one wrote.

In a statement, her sister Baek Dahee said that Ms. Baek “loved writing, connecting with others through writing and nurturing hope in other people.”

Ms. Baek was born in Goyang in 1990, the middle of three sisters. She studied creative writing at Dongguk University in Seoul and worked at a publishing company for five years.

During that time, she was diagnosed with persistent depressive disorder, according to the Korea Organ Donation Agency. She began attending therapy sessions at counseling centers and psychiatric clinics, experiences she recounted in her memoir. In 2019, she published a sequel, “I Want to Die, but I Still Want to Eat Tteokbokki,” which explored her struggles with self-harm and suicidal thoughts. (Tteokbokki is a popular Korean dish of rice cakes in a spicy sauce.)

Ms. Baek was modest about any influence she had on conversations surrounding mental health, particularly those in South Korea. In the PEN Transmissions interview, she noted that personal writing on mental health topics had become more common, adding that “it makes me glad that we are at least talking about it more.”

Ms. Baek is survived by her parents and two sisters.