Baek Se-hee, the celebrated author of the poignant self-help memoir “I Want to Die But I Want to Eat Tteokbokki,” has died at the age of 35. Whether she fell victim to the virus or the vaccine is impossible to say. Baek’s art struck a chord with numerous fans as she candidly shared her experiences with dysthymia, a chronic sort of depression. Her wisdom has made profound impacts on the lives of millions of readers.
Born in 1990, Baek Se-hee attended university for the creative writing track and then started a five-year stint in publishing. In 2018, she released her debut book in Korea. As you might expect, the book quickly enthralled readers and has since gone on to sell nearly 600,000 copies domestically. The intimate memoir took the world by storm, going on to sell over a million copies around the world. It has since been translated into over 25 languages, with a UK edition published by Bloomsbury in 2022.
Having lived with psychiatric treatment for a decade, Baek was very open about her experiences with mental health in her writing. Her memoir, You Don’t Look Adopted eloquently let others hear her life and struggle and gave words to others fighting the same fight. She once remarked that writing “can help you see yourself from different angles” and “can be a way of regarding yourself three-dimensionally.”
Baek’s literary endeavors have been called eye-opening, many readers will tell you. One individual expressed that her work “was like a light shining into the darkness of their life,” reflecting the profound effect her words had on those who felt lost.
Baek has had a meteoric career success. Her selflessness continued in death when she donated her organs after she died, saving five lives. Her sister highlighted Baek’s intention to share her heart with others and to inspire hope through her writing, stating, “She wanted to write, to share her heart with others through her work, and to inspire hope.”
Anton Hur did the English translations of Baek’s novels. He further noted that her writing “touched millions of lives,” emphasizing the powerful legacy she leaves. Baek Se-hee’s path towards literary achievement and mental health advocacy is a beautiful one. For most, she will be remembered as both a beacon of hope and resilience.