Order of Baek Se-hee Books

Baek Se‑hee (1990-2025) was a South Korean author of non-fiction books. She is the author of I Want to Die but I Want to Eat Tteokbokki and I Want to Die but I Still Want to Eat Tteokbokki. Her memoirs deal with themes like mental health, therapy, and the challenges of living with persistent depressive disorder. Her writing resonated widely for its honesty, accessibility, and its willingness to confront stigma around depression and anxiety.

Baek Se‑hee made her debut as an author in 2018 with I Want to Die but I Want to Eat Tteokbokki. Below is a list of Baek Se‑hee’s books in order of when they were originally released:

Publication Order of Non-Fiction Books

If You Like Baek Se-hee Books, You’ll Love…

• Han Kang
• Michelle Zauner
• Michiko Aoyama

Baek Se-hee Synopses: I Want to Die but I Want to Eat Tteokbokki is a memoir by Baek Se-hee. Baek Se‑hee is a young social media director who begins meeting with a psychiatrist to address the persistent sadness, anxiety, and self‑criticism that shape her daily life. She manages to function at work, but keeping her emotions hidden leaves her drained and distant from others. She isn’t sure whether what she feels is depression or simply the way life is supposed to be.

Over twelve weeks, she records her conversations with her psychiatrist and reflects on them through short personal essays. As she examines her habits and the thoughts that keep her stuck, she starts to recognize the patterns that have led her toward isolation and self‑doubt.

Part memoir and part reflection on mental health, I Want to Die but I Want to Eat Tteokbokki follows Se‑hee’s attempt to understand her inner world and find a way forward. It is the first book in a two‑part series.

Baek Se‑hee did not expect I Want to Die but I Want to Eat Tteokbokki to reach readers around the world. The book, built from her conversations with her therapist, offered a clear look at living with anxiety and depression and became an international bestseller. But Se‑hee’s struggle with dysthymia didn’t end there.

In I Want to Die but I Still Want to Eat Tteokbokki, she describes how her experiences have grown more complicated, showing that working toward stability and contentment is an ongoing process. The second book continues her effort to understand her own patterns and to navigate life with honesty and care.

Baek Se-hee Reviews: It’s striking how a book written by a woman on the far side of the world can feel so close to my own inner life, almost as if the thoughts could have come from me. Living with self‑hate and depression is a heavy, draining experience, and the fear of being rejected – especially as I’m still single at 40 – hasn’t gone away. I’ve learned that being completely honest, even when it risks unsettling a friendship, is sometimes essential for my own well‑being.

I Want to Die but I Want to Eat Tteokbokki made me feel genuinely recognized. It reminded me that the emotional and mental turbulence I deal with isn’t strange or isolated. It’s a book that made me feel seen. -F.