Baek Se-hee was a South Korean essayist and memoirist, and most famously, the author of her deeply poignant memoir, I Want to Die but I Want to Eat Tteokbokki. She wrote about mental health, therapy, and the challenges of living with persistent depression.
Her books were far-reaching and received international acclaim and moved readers with their candor and their vulnerability. Baek passed away in October 2025 at the age of 35, leading to tributes to her literary legacy and her brave talking about mental problems.
Quick Info |
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|---|---|
| Real Name: | Baek Se-hee |
| Birth Date: | 1990 |
| Aged | 35 Years |
| Died: | October 16, 2025 |
| Birthplace: | Seoul, South Korea |
| Height: | – |
| Boyfriend/Husband: | – |
Early Life
Baek Se-hee was born in 1990 in Goyang, in the Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. She was the second child among three daughters in her family. During her formative years as an adult, Baek pursued creative writing at the university level.
Upon graduation, she was employed for around five years at a publishing house, having experience in the literary world behind the scenes. Baek dealt with dysthymia, a mild and chronic form of depressive illness, most of her life.
She underwent psychiatric care for approximately ten years of regular therapy, and she later used the experiences as a source of her writing. One of the motivations that led her to writing was her tendency to write therapy notes and reflections on a blog, which would eventually become the draft of her first memoir.
Career
Baek Se-hee initially drew attention when her book I Want to Die but I Want to Eat Tteokbokki was published in 2018 in Korea. It consisted of therapy conversation, personal essays, and everyday emotional life reflections. The book was a bestseller and was later translated into English (published by Bloomsbury in 2022), which found its way to readers around the world.
The success of that memoir led to a follow-up, I Want to Die but I Still Want to Eat Tteokbokki, which further investigated her life, therapy, and the struggles of the mentally ill. Baek was a confessional narrator and a self-help writer; her own therapy transcripts were the scaffold onto which she constructed her reflections, observations, and commentaries to the reader.
She has been translated into over 25 languages and has been published in other countries, with her first book alone selling over a million copies globally. In addition to writing, Baek himself took part in literary events and literary interviews, providing a voice to the themes of emotional vulnerability, mental health stigma, and the experience of depression in everyday life.
Personal Life
No verifiable document or report exists in which Baek Se-hee was ever married or had any romantic relationship to reveal. Her social image centered somewhat on her writing, mental illness, and her struggle to express emotional reality. There is no mention of a partner in her biographical profiles, interviews, and book materials.
Reason of Death
She talked in front of a crowd about how by telling her story others could feel less alone. In October 2025, it was announced that Baek died at 35. Readers, fellow writers, and mental health advocates alike responded to her death by highlighting the importance of her openness and the comfort her words provided to those who were struggling with their emotions. In her last performance, Baek gave several organs, including a heart, lungs, liver, and both kidneys, which were said to save five lives.
Social Media
Baek Se-hee was an Instagram user with the handle of @_baeksehee, and she posted reflections, bits of writing, and commentary on literature. Although her following was small (approximately 13.7K followers), her writing tended to resonate emotionally, either with quotations of her essays, a personal reference to therapy, or a moment of introspection.
Her social media presence was also beneficial to her literary image: she did not project a lifestyle brand but rather used it as a place where she could reveal vulnerability, details about her writing process, and a connection with readers who could relate to her experience.
Baek Se-hee Net Worth
The net worth of Baek Se-hee is not publicly verifiable. Her financial status was also probably humble, as she earned money selling books, translations, and perhaps royalties or speaking at events. Her career was relatively short, and she only recently passed away, so financial disclosures are few and far between.
