Baek Sehee Books
Baek Sehee is a South Korean author who previously worked in advertising before writing about her personal experiences with depression and anxiety. Her debut book, 'I Want to Die but I Want to Eat Tteokbokki,' resonated widely for its raw and relatable portrayal of mental health struggles.
Known for: I Want to Die but I Want to Eat Tteokbokki
Books by Baek Sehee
I Want to Die but I Want to Eat Tteokbokki
I Want to Die but I Want to Eat Tteokbokki is an unusually intimate memoir about living in the gray zone of depression: not dramatic collapse, but a persistent, exhausting dissatisfaction with being alive. Baek Sehee, a young South Korean woman working in publishing and advertising, records her therapy conversations as she tries to make sense of chronic low mood, anxiety, self-criticism, and the gap between how functional she appears and how fractured she feels inside. The book’s striking title captures its core truth: despair and desire can exist at the same time. A person can feel tired of life and still crave a favorite snack, a good conversation, or a small pleasure that keeps them tethered to the day. What makes this book matter is its honesty. Baek does not offer a dramatic recovery arc or easy inspiration. Instead, she shows what therapy often really looks like: repetitive, awkward, illuminating, and slow. Her authority comes not from clinical expertise but from lived experience, sharpened by careful observation and vulnerability. The result is a deeply relatable account of mental health that helps readers feel seen, especially those who have struggled to explain why they are hurting when everything looks “fine” from the outside.
Read SummaryKey Insights from Baek Sehee
Therapy Begins With Naming the Blur
One of the hardest parts of mental suffering is that it often resists clear language. Baek Sehee enters therapy not because her life has completely fallen apart, but because she feels emotionally blunted, chronically dissatisfied, and unable to trust her own inner life. This matters because many peo...
From I Want to Die but I Want to Eat Tteokbokki
Self-Criticism Can Masquerade as Honesty
Many people assume that being harsh with themselves is the same as being realistic. Baek’s therapy sessions expose the lie in that assumption. She often interprets her thoughts, behavior, and relationships through a lens of relentless self-criticism, calling herself inadequate, fake, selfish, or wea...
From I Want to Die but I Want to Eat Tteokbokki
Social Life Often Exhausts the Sensitive Mind
Some people leave social interactions energized; others leave them replaying every word. Baek belongs firmly to the second group. Her therapy reveals how ordinary encounters can become sites of intense overanalysis, where she worries about how she sounded, whether she was too much or not enough, and...
From I Want to Die but I Want to Eat Tteokbokki
Depression Can Be Chronic, Quiet, and Functional
The book is powerful partly because it challenges the stereotype that depression always appears as visible collapse. Baek’s struggle resembles dysthymia, a persistent, low-grade depression that allows a person to function while still feeling chronically depleted, joyless, and burdened by existence. ...
From I Want to Die but I Want to Eat Tteokbokki
Vulnerability Is Frightening but Clarifying
We often imagine honesty as a single brave confession, but Baek’s book shows that emotional honesty is usually incremental. In therapy, she gradually says things she has hidden even from herself: how much she dislikes herself, how often she interprets life through shame, how badly she wants relief, ...
From I Want to Die but I Want to Eat Tteokbokki
Work Easily Becomes a Measure of Worth
Modern life encourages a dangerous equation: productivity equals value. Baek’s reflections on work show how deeply this belief can shape mental health. She does not simply want to do her job well; she experiences work performance as evidence of whether she deserves respect, belonging, and even self-...
From I Want to Die but I Want to Eat Tteokbokki
About Baek Sehee
Baek Sehee is a South Korean author who previously worked in advertising before writing about her personal experiences with depression and anxiety. Her debut book, 'I Want to Die but I Want to Eat Tteokbokki,' resonated widely for its raw and relatable portrayal of mental health struggles.
Frequently Asked Questions
Baek Sehee is a South Korean author who previously worked in advertising before writing about her personal experiences with depression and anxiety. Her debut book, 'I Want to Die but I Want to Eat Tteokbokki,' resonated widely for its raw and relatable portrayal of mental health struggles.
Read Baek Sehee's books in 15 minutes
Get AI-powered summaries with key insights from 1 book by Baek Sehee.