REVIEW: Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982

A short review of Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 by Cho Nam-joo.

Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 is a novel published and translated from Korean in . The book opens almost as though it will be in the style of magical realism, a genre popular with modern Korean and Japanese authors, but as it continues it reveals the entirely real devastating sexism in 20th and 21st century South Korea. Kim Jiyoung is an average woman born in the 80’s in South Korea. As a daughter, she is overlooked in favor of her younger brother, her mother providing the only speck of light showing her that she could be something more than a homemaker. Unfortunately, the light could only reach so far in the vast darkness all around.

The novel reveals that even once Kim Jiyoung starts applying to jobs, it is almost impossible to beat the men competing for the same one. In one stark scene, Kim Jiyoung and other women in an interview are asked by a potential employer how they would react if a male client came onto them. Jiyoung said that she would not go along with it. Not surprisingly, she did not get the job. And even once employed, being a woman in the workplace means working twice as hard as male counterparts, for no compensation.

The most striking part to me was how a woman in South Korean society just can never win. Once at marrying age, one who is not married is suspected to have problems. People will whisper about what is wrong with her, what makes her undesirable. But once one is married, one is expected to immediately have babies. If one doesn’t have a baby right away, once again people will whisper about what is wrong with her, what is wrong with her womb that she can’t get pregnant. Once one has a baby, though, one is expected to stop working. If one stops working to have a baby, she is criticized for being lazy, for coasting on her husband’s salary and doing nothing for the family. If a woman continues working after having a baby, she is criticized for being a bad mother, for abandoning her child, for not being a good mother.

No matter what choice a woman makes, she cannot do the right thing. The author, Cho Nam-joo, supplements the story of Kim Jiyoung with statistics and facts about employment, motherhood, and more in South Korea in the 20th and 21st century. Most are shocking and disappointing.

Something that I personally took away from reading Kim Jiyhoung, Born 1982, was, although I am not part of South Korean culture, how much of its story is still applicable to my own. Although more veiled within the United States and the UK, there is still no universal equal wage. Women’s bodies are controlled by the government, and maternity leave is still expected over paternity leave.

Extremely well written and well-translated, this eye-opening novel should be read by everyone, but especially men in positions of power. Not only does the book [poignantly] illustrate stark inequality, but it also shows that men with ‘good intentions’ can overlook many wrongs when blinded by the rhetoric of tradition or ‘this is just what we’ve always done.’ Being well-meaning does not mean that one is not personally contributing to injustice.

4.75 STARS

Where to buy online: https://www.waterstones.com/book/kim-jiyoung-born-1982/cho-nam-joo/jamie-chang/9781471184307

Support your local bookshop and go in and buy it there if you can!