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I Want to Die But I Want to Eat Tteokpokki
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Baek Se-hee, who wrote I Want To Die But I Still Want To Eat Tteokbokki, has died aged 35.
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Yes, I read about it, so sorry to hear of her passing. ❤️
May she rest in peace. Thanks for posting the surprising news.
South Korean author Baek Se-hee, who wrote the bestselling memoirs and self-help duology I Want To Die But I Want To Eat Tteokbokki and I Want To Die But I Still Want To Eat Tteokbokki, has died aged 35.
The cause of her death is not yet known. The Korean Organ Donation Agency on Friday (Oct 17) said that the late writer's donated organs saved five lives, according to various media outlets including The Straits Times, The Korean Herald and Yonhap News Agency.
She had donated her heart, lungs, liver and both kidneys at the National Health Insurance Service Ilsan Hospital in the Gyeonggi Province, the agency was quoted as saying.
According to KBS, her family said in a statement: "Because we knew her kind heart that couldn't hate anyone, we hope she can rest peacefully in heaven now."
Se-hee's first book became a hot topic after Korean boyband BTS's RM recommended it on social media, with books one and two selling approximately 600,000 copies in Korea and exported to 25 countries, reported the Korean broadcaster.
The books — published in 2018 and 2019 respectively — are also popular in Singapore, spending more than 100 weeks on The Straits Times' (ST) bestsellers list, according to an ST article.
Se-hee was most recently in Singapore in November 2024 for the Singapore Writers Festival.
Born in 1990, she studied creative writing at Dongguk University before working for five years at a publishing house.
The main inspiration and subject of her books was her struggle with dysthymia (persistent mild depression) — something she had been receiving treatment for 10 years for after getting diagnosed around her college years.
Tteokbokki, a South Korean rice cake dish, was her favourite food.
The therapy memoir in various languages. PHOTO: Instagram/_baeksehee
Speaking to her alma mater in 2019, she said: "I wondered about what it would be like if people knew about this condition, and the best subject that I could write about was exactly myself."
Her two books were translated into English by International Booker shortlistee Anton Hur.
They include Se-hee's personal anecdotes and journey through healing alongside dialogues with her psychiatrist.
Her books have also been translated into various other languages.
May her struggles be over and may she rest in peace ♥