Narrative Identity and Therapeutic Storytelling in Baek Se-hee’s I Want to Die but I Want to Eat Tteokbokki

This study examines the construction of narrative identity and the function of therapeutic storytelling in Baek Se-hee’s memoir I Want to Die but I Want to Eat Tteokbokki. Through a close reading of the text, the research investigates how autobiographical narration and recorded psychotherapy sessions contribute to the author’s ongoing process of self-understanding and identity formation. Drawing upon the theories of Paul Ricoeur, Jerome Bruner, and Mikhail Bakhtin, the study explores the relationship between dialogue, self-representation, and psychological recovery. The memoir employs a confessional narrative style that blurs the boundaries between personal testimony and literary expression, allowing readers to witness the reconstruction of selfhood through storytelling. Furthermore, the study analyzes the role of polyphonic discourse and everyday language in creating authenticity and emotional resonance. Ultimately, the research argues that therapeutic storytelling functions not only as a means of coping with depression but also as a powerful narrative strategy for negotiating identity in contemporary autobiographical literature. Moreover, this study examines the memoir’s challenge to conventional narratives of recovery by emphasizing the ongoing and unfinished nature of psychological healing. Rather than presenting depression as a condition that can be completely overcome, Baek Se-hee portrays healing as a continuous process of dialogue, reflection, and self-negotiation. The memoir’s confessional style and dialogic structure encourage readers to engage critically with dominant cultural expectations surrounding mental health, success, and personal fulfillment. By foregrounding vulnerability and emotional complexity, the text contributes to contemporary discussions of life writing, mental health representation, and the role of narrative in shaping individual and collective understandings of psychological experience. (Bakhtin 259–274; Frank 53–76; Baek 106–145)

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Keywords: Narrative Identity , Therapeutic Storytelling , Memoir , Self-Representation , Dialogism