Baek Se-hee, the South Korean author of the bestselling memoir I Want to Die but I Want to Eat Tteokbokki, has died at the age of 35.
Her 2018 book, 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.
Originally written in Korean, it found international acclaim after its English translation was published in 2022.
The details surrounding her death are unclear.
Baek donated her organs - her heart, lungs, liver, and kidneys - which have helped to save five lives, the Korean Organ Donation Agency said in a statement on Friday.
The statement also included comments from her sister, which said that Baek had wanted to share her heart with others through her work, and to inspire hope.
I Want to Die but I Want to Eat Tteokbokki, published in 2018, has sold more than a million copies worldwide and been translated into 25 languages.
The runaway bestseller was celebrated for normalizing mental health conversations and its nuanced take on inner struggles - most notably, the author's personal conflict between depressive thoughts and her appreciation for simple joys.
Born in 1990, Baek Se-hee studied creative writing in university and worked for five years in a publishing house. For a decade, she received treatment for dysthymia, which influenced the content of her best-selling memoir.
A sequel, I Want to Die but I Still Want to Eat Tteokbokki, was published in Korean in 2019, with its English translation set for release in 2024.
The human heart, even when it wants to die, quite often wants at the same time to eat some tteokbokki, too, goes the book's most famous line.
