She opens with “August, 2015,” immediately divulging the fragile mental state of her titular Kim Jiyoung, who now as a wife and mother has developed the disturbing tendency to suddenly become other people she’s known, both living and dead. Riveting, original and uncompromising, this is the most important book to have emerged from South Korea since Han Kang>squo s The Vegetarian.Already an international bestseller, television scriptwriter Cho Nam-Joo’s debut novel has been credited with helping to “launch Korea’s new feminist movement.” The fact that gender inequity is insidiously pervasive throughout the world will guarantee that this tale has immediate resonance, and its smoothly accessible, albeit British English vernacular-inclined, translation by award-winning translator Jamie Chang will ensure appreciative Anglophone audiences.Ĭho’s narrative is part bildungsroman and part Wikipedia entry (complete with statistics-heavy footnotes). Kim Jiyoung has started acting strangely. Kim Jiyoung is a wife who gives up her career and independence for a life of domesticity. Kim Jiyoung is a model employee but gets overlooked for promotion. Kim Jiyoung is a good student who doesnwsquo t get put forward for internships. Kim Jiyoung is a daughter whose father blames her when she is harassed late at night. Kim Jiyoung is a female preyed upon by male teachers at school. Kim Jiyoung is a sister made to share a room while her brother gets one of his own. Kim Jiyoung is a girl born to a mother whose in-laws wanted a boy. dquo Sayaka Murata, author of Convenience Store Woman The fact that itbsquo s not about tsquo someone specialrsquo is extremely shocking, while also being incredibly relatable. Rdquo This is a book about the life of a woman living in Korea the despair of an ordinary woman which she takes for granted. Riveting, original and uncompromising, this is the most important book to have emerged from South Korea sinceHan Kangfsquo s The Vegetarian. The life story of one young woman born at the end of the twentieth century raises questions about endemic misogyny and institutional oppression that are relevant to us all.Ī RED MAGAZINE 'CAN'T WAIT TO READ' BOOK OF 2020 Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 is the South Korean sensation that has got the whole world talking. The multi-million copy selling, international bestseller

Kim ji young born 1982 by cho nam ju