This wasn’t exactly what I was expecting and I think the format is what bothered me the most. But also as someone who has gone through trauma therapy, the therapist just seemed to miss the point at times. Maybe it’s just because I am more familiar with therapy in the US instead of other countries, but still.

what a beautiful but heartbreaking book. it did hit me and truly had me being like wow but would I say I really loved loved this. probably not

I initially read this book because Namjoon of BTS spoke so highly of it. LET ME TELL YOU, this book altered the way I address my mental health and allowed me to be ok. I’ve read it multiple times now, taking away new perspectives with each read. I will gladly read this book over and over again to gain new insights and come to peace with who I am.

I though t this was intriguing as a concept, but it felt a bit repetitive at times, good for starting conversations about mental health.

I could not finish enough of this book to be able to leave a comprehensive review, but I hope it finds its audience and I am grateful to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an advance copy.

This book is tough. The structure is interesting and the topic is important. Still, I tried to start it many times and found I needed to be in the right head space to dive fully in. I suspect this is more about the reader than the writer or the book. Kudos for tackling a challenging topic within a culture not easily opened to the discussion.

interesting concept. an autobiographical account of the author's time in therapy dealing with chronic depression, but ultimately left me feeling pretty unaffected.

I am sorry for the inconvenience but I don’t have the time to read this anymore and have lost interest in the concept. I believe that it would benefit your book more if I did not skim your book and write a rushed review. Again, I am sorry for the inconvenience.

I Want to Die but I want to Eat Tteokbokki is a back-and-forth style translated memoir about mental health. I always find reading about someone’s personal experience with their mental health to be interesting and this writing style certainly complemented the subject. This book is a relatively quick read at 232 pages and it’s very relatable, though some may view it as a little dry. 

Fellow BTS friends, not only does this book have one of my personal favorite book titles in the past few years, but it is also recommended by Nam-joon.

I don't really know what I expecting from this book but I feel like it was a bit more then this. I'm not sure exactly what was lacking... While her story was raw and relatable I don't think this was the type of book where I took that much away from it. I like my memoirs with a bit more humor i.e. Jenny Lawson. Maybe something was lost in translation but I didn't really connect with the author as much as I thought I would. Additionally, the psychiatrist sessions felt tedious to listen to.
I received an ARC of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This short memoir deals with mental health and a lot of issues most of us keep thinking about almost everyday regarding our own unhealthy behaviour towards ourselves and others (including strangers!).

I feel this is a must read book and it has gained popularity over the years ever since it got published in Korea for so many reasons, one of the reason I feel is that it has a very comprehensive way of presentation which is very easy to follow regarding the talk between the author and the psychiatrist.

All I can say is that it brought me so much peace and comfort.

This was a very unexpected book with a style that was totally new to me. It was a wholly original take on writing about mental health and journey of therapy and discovery, and I applaud the author for writing this. It always feels strange to rate something that is so deeply personal, so I am giving this book four stars solely because I found the translation to be a little clunky.

The content, however, I will not rate- this is a book that provides a different take on a person's experience with therapy, and I think any book that tackles this topic is worth attention.

Thanks to NetGalley and Bloomsbury for the review copy!

This book...I want to Die but I want to Eat Tteokbokki was a unique look at mental health and life changing. I absolutely loved the format of it, that it was a discussion, not your typical self help book format. I'll be recommending this to all of my friends

Baek Sehee ingeniously combines elements of memoir and self-help in her first book, I Want to Die but I Want to Eat Tteokbokki, a bestseller in her native South Korea. She offers an intimate look into one patient's experience in therapy and her own analysis of and takeaways from those sessions.

Consumed by a desperate sense of emptiness she calls "a vague state of being not-fine and not-devastated at the same time," Sehee seeks the help of a psychiatrist, ultimately resulting in a diagnosis of dysthymia, or persistent depressive disorder. Sehee approaches this book with a sense of precision and detailed emotional accounting, not merely recalling her psychiatric sessions from memory, but transcribing her recordings of the sessions word for word across the pages of this book. She then adds her own analysis of each session, drawing in real-life examples of how some of what she learned in therapy showed up in life outside of the psychiatrist's office.

I Want to Die but I Want to Eat Tteokbokki remains faithful to real life all the way to the end, not offering a neatly packaged revelation in which Sehee finds meaning and purpose in her suffering. Instead, she concludes "not with answers but a wish": to love and be loved, to hurt less and live more, to find joy amidst the hardships. Everyone is just trying to be as okay as possible, after all--and seeing Sehee's processing of that in I Want to Die but I Want to Eat Tteokbokki is sure to make readers feel a little less alone in their own attempts. --Kerry McHugh, freelance writer

You need to be in the right mindset to read this book, and I wasn't there. The translation seems a little stunted and very dry. There's no personality to grab onto to make you care about this person. Maybe I would feel differently if I could relate to them, but I can't.

THIS TITLE!! Grabbed my interest instantly. I enjoyed this book but found it to be nothing super groundbreaking. The book was easy to understand with the blunt, to-the-point writing style. However, the topics cover mental health issues, I would not label it as an easy read.

This story does not feature any real growth or story development. It is just a conversation on depression, friendship, etc. This way of writing really fits the concepts and tone of the book, which I would recommend overall.

3/5 Stars

I can see why this was such a big seller in Korea! It was really topical yet seemed fresh. The back-and-forth interview format was very new to be and made the book both interesting and quick to read. I felt like we really got to know the patient.

The South Korean runaway bestseller, debut author Baek Sehee's intimate therapy memoir, as recommended by BTS.

PSYCHIATRIST: So how can I help you?

ME: I don’t know, I’m – what’s the word – depressed? Do I have to go into detail?

Baek Sehee is a successful young social media director at a publishing house when she begins seeing a psychiatrist about her - what to call it? - depression? She feels persistently low, anxious, endlessly self-doubting, but also highly judgmental of others. She hides her feelings well at work and with friends, performing the calmness her lifestyle demands. The effort is exhausting, overwhelming, and keeps her from forming deep relationships. This can't be normal. But if she's so hopeless, why can she always summon a desire for her favorite street food: the hot, spicy rice cake, tteokbokki? Is this just what life is like?

Recording her dialogues with her psychiatrist over a twelve-week period, and expanding on each session with her own reflective micro-essays, Baek begins to disentangle the feedback loops, knee-jerk reactions, and harmful behaviors that keep her locked in a cycle of self-abuse. Part memoir, part self-help book, I Want to Die but I Want to Eat Tteokbokki is a book to keep close and to reach for in times of darkness. It will appeal to anyone who has ever felt alone or unjustified in their everyday despair.


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As someone who speak Korean, the translation is weirder than I thought. I don't really understand at some point. It also looks funny. Still a very good book.
Highly recommended for anyone!
Thanks Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC!

The title itself is brilliant and that's what attracted me to this book. Indeed the entire premise of the book is clever and it works as a vehicle for the author. It won't appeal to everyone, but I think it is a book that every library should own. Each book finds its reader and this one most certainly will as well.

Written from the author’s perspective, I Want to Die but I Want to Eat Tteokbokki (IWTDBIWTET) is a collection of nonfictional dialogues and personal essays that centres around mental health, loving oneself and therapy. It touches upon her therapy sessions with her psychiatrist over 12 weeks (which can only show what we have despite her ten-year journey with therapy and mental health) and includes the author’s self-reflections toward those sessions.

“This is a record of a very ordinary, incomplete person who meets another ordinary, incomplete person, the latter of whom happens to be a therapist” (Page 156).


While I greatly appreciated the down-to-earth, straightforward approach the author took, the final few essays really accentuated the point of how IWTDBIWTET is ultimately directionless. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying there’s no point to this book (having good mental health and loving oneself is a continuous journey, after all) and I’m not saying that I expected a happy ending or answers (re: the continuous journey). Rather, there comes a point where despite relating to and understanding where the author and psychiatrist are coming from, the book becomes evidently structureless, mirroring the sessions the author had. Moreover, I think the book would’ve been stronger had the postscript chapter not been included. At least then, the content seems to come to a circle with a final line that relates back to the title.

“To right every wrong you come across in the world would be an impossible endeavor for any one person. You’re just one person, and you’re putting too much of the weight of the world on yourself” (Pages 11-12).


Nevertheless, I think this is an alright place to start for those that have little experience with therapy or have only begun their healthy mental health journey. You won’t find the overly-positive vibe that self-help books have or the accusatory, scary voice that makes you feel like you’re not “normal” (whatever “normal” is). Instead, IWTDBIWTET has a hopeful, and reflective tone as the author looks back and reflects. Though, of course, when there are ups, there will be downs too.