South Korean author Baek Se-hee has passed away at 35 years old.
According to BBC News, the writer's cause of death is unknown at this time. Se-hee found international acclaim with her bestselling memoir, I Want to Die but I Want to Eat Tteokbokki.
Published in 2018, the book was first released in Korean before being translated to English in 2022. The outlet describes I Want to Die but I Want to Eat Tteokbokki as "a compilation of conversations with her psychiatrist about her depression, was a cultural phenomenon with its themes of mental health resonating with readers across the world."
A statement from Se-hee's sister said the author wanted to "share her heart with others through her work, and to inspire hope."
I Want to Die but I Want to Eat Tteokbokki has sold over a million copies around the world and has been translated in 25 countries. Its most famous line also references tteokbokki, the Korean snack made of chewy rice cakes: "The human heart, even when it wants to die, quite often wants at the same time to eat some tteokbokki, too."
The memoir was known for openly discussing mental health and the accompanying inner struggles, as well as showcasing Se-hee’s own conflict between depression and joy.
Se-hee studied creative writing in college and worked for five years at a publishing house, which led to her memoir. For 10 years, she was treated for dysthymia, a subdued but enduring type of depression.
In 2019, she published the sequel, I Want to Die but I Still Want to Eat Tteokbokki, in Korean; the English version was later published in 2024.