Name: Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982
ISBN: 9781471184307

Cho Nam-Joo

Jamie Chang

Who is Kim Jiyoung?

Kim Jiyoung is a girl born to a mother whose in-laws wanted a boy. Kim Jiyoung is a sister made to share a room while her brother gets one of his own.

Kim Jiyoung is a female preyed upon by male teachers at school. Kim Jiyoung is a daughter whose father blames her when she is harassed late at night.

Kim Jiyoung is a good student who doesn't get put forward for internships. Kim Jiyoung is a model employee but gets overlooked for promotion. Kim Jiyoung is a wife who gives up her career and independence for a life of domesticity.

Kim Jiyoung has started acting strangely.

Kim Jiyoung is depressed.

Kim Jiyoung is mad.

Kim Jiyoung is her own woman.

Kim Jiyoung is every woman.

Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 is the life story of one young woman born at the end of the twentieth century and raises questions about endemic misogyny and institutional oppression that are relevant to us all. Riveting, original and uncompromising, this is the most important book to have emerged from South Korea since Han Kang's The Vegetarian.

Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982

82년생 김지영

Rose

Do laws and institutions change values, or do values drive laws and institutions?

tuna

aemouh

While offenders were in fear of losing a small part of their privilege, the victims were running the risk of losing everything. 

Liberty

Magda 

Why do I have to deny myself something I want right now to prepare for a future that may or may not come?

Lindsay Ornedo

Onto the feelings left unsaid for so long that they were desiccated and crackling, a tiny spark of a flame fell and instantly reduced the most shining romance of youth to ashes.

Katto

Carolin

fira

Donny

Klara Hansen 

ipek

"Kansere çare bulunan, kalp nakli yapılan bir dünyada regl sancısına iyi gelen bir ilaç olmaz mı? Dünya rahmimize ilaç değmemesini istiyor belli ki. Ne yani? Burası dokunulmaz, kutsal bölge falan mı?”

Kim Ji-young is the most common name for Korean women born in the 1980s. Kim Ji-young is representative of her generation: At home, she is an unfavoured sister to her princeling little brother. In primary school, she is a girl who has to line up behind the boys at lunchtime. In high school, she is a daughter whose father blames her for being harassed late at night. In university, she is a good student who doesn't get put forward for internships by her professor. In the office, she is an exemplary employee who is overlooked for promotion by her manager. At home, she is a wife who has given up her career to take care of her husband and her baby. Kim Ji-young is depressed. Kim Ji-young has started acting out. Kim Ji-young is her own woman. Kim Ji-young is insane. Kim Ji-young is sent by her husband to a psychiatrist. This is his clinical assessment of the everywoman in contemporary Korea.

Kim Ji-Young, Born 1982

Being born and raised in an asian houshold and culture, i could relate to everything so well. Everything is still the same, all the inequality and societal remarks and the way they look and think of women. Ahhhhh, so powerfully summoned in words.

meem

The whole time reading it, i was like

'DAMNN, IT'S SO RELATABLE!!!"

Being born and raised in an asian houshold and culture, i could relate to everything so well. Everything is still the same, all the inequality and societal remarks and the way they look and think of women. Ahhhhh, so powerfully summoned in words.

Kim Ji-young, Born 1982 (Korean: 82년생 김지영) is a novel by Cho Nam-Joo. A former scriptwriter for TV programs, Cho took two months to write the story as according to her, the title character "Kim Ji-young's life isn't much different from the one I have lived. That's why I was able to write so quickly without much preparation." Published by Minumsa in October 2016, it has sold more than 1 million copies as of 27 November 2018, becoming the first million-selling Korean novel since Shin Kyung-sook's Please Look After Mom in 2009.

It is surely well written and the plot/themes are more than necessary. However, it isn't exceptionally entertaing or page-turning.

Gemma

lahir tahun 1982

Kim Ji-yeong

Reading this book made me realize again how painful it is to be a woman in a world that keeps telling you to shrink yourself. Even now, misogyny is still present in many forms, shaping the lives of women in ways they never asked for. Because of it, so many women lose parts of themselves, their dreams, and their sense of who they are. I hope that Kim Ji-Young, and all of us who see ourselves in her story, can someday live in a world where we are free from these patterns. :)

Love

Overall, it's a really good (or bad) look into Korea and its misogyny. As someone living in Korea, it is exactly as is told in the book! Boy students are held to a much lower standard than girls, and the same bleeds into the teachers roles. Overall, a great read which hides little rays of hope, but ultimately should smack you in the face with how things are still extremely unfair in the world.

Max Riley

It's sad how so many women are able to relate to the content in this book. Sexism is a universal experience unfortunately. 

Saffia

at times this felt more like a non-fiction book and i really enjoyed how factual and upfront it was about societies ingrained sexism. i feel like a lot was lost in translation unfortunately but still a good read. the ending honestly felt bleak with the therapists pov of him initially claiming to now be more open minded towards women’s struggles… only for the last line to be sexist asf “i’ll have to hire an unmarried woman next time” bruh. but really effective because!! things truly have not changed

didn't bring up anything i wasn't already aware of, so it kinda feels like i've read it before, but i also love this kind of book so who am i to complain!

Stas

Nastenka

being a woman </3 pain </3

cried loads <3

I know this book is supposed to show you the reality of the misogyny is South Korea, but I really can't feel the struggle from this book. The writing is so dry and uninspiring, I feel like the writer try so hard to be 'raw' but it doesn't quite capture the emotion.

catto fishu

Danniella

I WAS NOT EXPECTING THAT ENDING WHATTTTTTT 

elinabel hidalgo 

The multi-million copy international bestseller Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 is the South Korean sensation that has got the whole world talking. 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. A GUARDIAN 'ONE TO LOOK OUT FOR 2020' A RED MAGAZINE 'CAN'T WAIT TO READ' BOOK OF 2020 Riveting, original and uncompromising, this is the most important book to have emerged from South Korea since Han Kang’s The Vegetarian. “This is a book about the life of a woman living in Korea; the despair of an ordinary woman which she takes for granted. The fact that it’s not about ‘someone special’ is extremely shocking, while also being incredibly relatable.” Sayaka Murata, author of Convenience Store Woman Kim Jiyoung is a girl born to a mother whose in-laws wanted a boy. Kim Jiyoung is a sister made to share a room while her brother gets one of his own. Kim Jiyoung is a female preyed upon by male teachers at school. Kim Jiyoung is a daughter whose father blames her when she is harassed late at night. Kim Jiyoung is a good student who doesn’t get put forward for internships. Kim Jiyoung is a model employee but gets overlooked for promotion. Kim Jiyoung is a wife who gives up her career and independence for a life of domesticity. Kim Jiyoung has started acting strangely. Kim Jiyoung is depressed. Kim Jiyoung is mad. Kim Jiyoung is her own woman. Kim Jiyoung is every woman. ‘A touchstone for a conversation around feminism and gender […] Kim Jiyoung can be seen as a sort of sacrifice: a protagonist who is broken in order to open up a channel for collective rage. Along with...Bong Joon-ho’s Oscar-winning film Parasite, her story could change the bigger one’ Guardian 'This witty, disturbing book deals with sexism, mental health issues and the hypocrisy of a country where young women are “popping caffeine pills and turning jaundiced” as they slave away in factories helping to fund higher education for male siblings.' The Independent 'A treatise and a howl of anger […] it describes experiences that will be recognisable everywhere. It’s slim, unadorned narrative distils a lifetime’s iniquities into a sharp punch. The books demonstrates the unfairness of the female experience and the sheer difficulty of improving it.’ The Sunday Times

cee 

Kim Jiyoung's experience is one shared universally, so writing about it honestly isn’t anything new or surprising to any other woman, but it’s difficult and honest and radicalizing nonetheless. Written in a tone that’s emotionally numbing and clinical, backed with real news articles from South Korean presses, Cho Nam-joo illustrates the journey of a woman going mad from a powerlessness and a downward-projected fate she’s possessed since even before she was born. She details the unspoken and openly demanded expectations of women in the home, workplace, and society. Everywhere, women are viewed as both too much and not enough, mentally and physically stretched far too thin to maintain a sense of self. 

And yet in Cho’s depiction of the tragedy that is the female experience, there exists a glimmer still in the fact that this is very much real and shared. Beauty exists in daughters that help their siblings out when they realize what their mothers carry, in strangers that recognize a scared girl’s call for help in crises that don’t otherwise concern them, in one woman’s demand for action for the sake of all the women beside her affected by injustice. Beauty exists in the light of a community that uplifts and heals each other. Ultimately, as bleak as the circumstances are, I don’t find this story or its message to be as such. In the eyes of Kim Jiyoung, I see hope in a future still being molded by women unafraid to get their hands dirty if it eases the load of those beside her in a common struggle. And that’s the most beautiful thing.

joana ashley

Kim Jiyoung's experience is one shared universally, so writing about it honestly isn’t anything new or surprising to any other woman, but it’s difficult and honest and radicalizing nonetheless. Written in a tone that’s emotionally numbing and clinical, backed with real news articles from South Korean presses, Cho Nam-joo illustrates the journey of a woman going mad from a powerlessness and a downward-projected fate she’s possessed since even before she was born. She details the unspoken and openly demanded expectations of women in the home, workplace, and society. Everywhere, women are viewed as both too much and not enough, mentally and physically stretched far too thin to maintain a sense of self. 

And yet in Cho’s depiction of the tragedy that is the female experience, there exists a glimmer still in the fact that this is very much real and shared. Beauty exists in daughters that help their siblings out when they realize what their mothers carry, in strangers that recognize a scared girl’s call for help in crises that don’t otherwise concern them, in one woman’s demand for action for the sake of all the women beside her affected by injustice. Beauty exists in the light of a community that uplifts and heals each other. Ultimately, as bleak as the circumstances are, I don’t find this story or its message to be as such. In the eyes of Kim Jiyoung, I see hope in a future still being molded by women unafraid to get their hands dirty if it eases the load of those beside her in a common struggle. And that’s the most beautiful thing.

Mira <3

A very important book content-wise but still meh. Maybe a lot of nuance is lost due to translation. I also never realised the full extent of how much Korea just sucks ass, esp if you're a woman

Eva Ströberg

This book is the story of Jiyoung, a 30-year old something mother who suffers from some sort of nervous breakdown and her background story gives a lot of insights about how does it feel to be a woman in a strong patriarchal society in South Korea. Must read for women!

Kim-Ji Young, nata nel 1982

Camilla

4.5 ⭐

someone add this book to both the korean literature canon and feminist literature canon

safs

I desperately wanted to love this book. It centres the mundane to detail the effects of systemic misogyny on one woman's life in South Korea so covers a very important topic and one I am particularly passionate about. But there is one huge issue with the book! It is *very* dry!!!! Whilst the reasoning behind this becomes quite clear towards the end, I found it really difficult, even painful, to actually get through the book. I found myself putting it down repeatedly and reaching for others in the long month that it took me to finish it. This is really unfortunate because the book invites you to reflect on the countless ways misogyny impacts women's lives and could have made for a very important read for anyone, especially men (and women who have yet to grapple with this topic).

Louisa

I love how Korean fiction seems to have gotten me out of my last two stress/anger-induced reading slumps ! Also I for once can say I literally read this book in one afternoon, probably my lowest time to page ratio ever

** spoiler alert **
           Such a greaaaaat book!! I loved every single chapters from it. Feels like i haven’t read a book this good in a long time and i couldn’t be more grateful to have read this one because all the sexual harassment topics were very real & raw in working/office environment for women up to this day.

͏͏͏͏͏͏

The multi-million copy selling, international bestseller. Kim Jiyoung is a girl born to a mother whose in-laws wanted a boy. Kim Jiyoung is a sister made to share a room while her brother gets one of his own. Kim Jiyoung is a female preyed upon by male teachers at school. Kim Jiyoung is a daughter whose father blames her when she is harassed late at night. Kim Jiyoung is a good student who doesn't get put forward for internships. Kim Jiyoung is a model employee but gets overlooked for promotion. Kim Jiyoung is a wife who gives up her career and independence for a life of domesticity. Kim Jiyoung has started acting strangely. Kim Jiyoung is depressed. Kim Jiyoung is mad. Kim Jiyoung is her own woman. Kim Jiyoung is every woman. Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 is the South Korean sensation that has got the whole world talking. 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. Riveting, original and uncompromising, this is the most important book to have emerged from South Korea since Han Kang's The Vegetarian. "This is a book about the life of a woman living in Korea; the despair of an ordinary woman which she takes for granted. The fact that it's not about 'someone special' is extremely shocking, while also being incredibly relatable." Sayaka Murata, author of Convenience Store Woman 'I loved this novel. Kim Jiyoung's life is made to seem at once totally commonplace, and nightmarishly over-the-top. As you read, you constantly feel that revolutionary, electric shift, between commonplace and nightmarish. This kind of imaginative work is so important and so powerful. I hope this book sells a million more copies.' Elif Batuman, author of The Idiot (shortlisted for The Women's Prize) 'After reading Kim Ji-young, Born 1982, I started to think about things in a way I hadn't thought about them before. It reminded me of the unfair treatment I had experienced being a woman and I felt like I was caught off guard.' Soo-young, member of Girls' Generation "A book with unique implications; I was so impressed." BTS RM "Written with unbearably clear-sighted perspective, Kim JiYoung, Born 1982 possesses the urgency and immediacy of the scariest horror thriller -- except that this is not technically horror, but something closer to reportage. I broke out in a sweat reading this book." Ling Ma, author of Severance

armoni mayes

I feel bad about giving this book 3 stars, it’s more 3.5 stars to be exact. The book portrayed real-life scenarios that anyone can experience at the hands of men which was insightful but the actual plot of the book was a little boring.

Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982

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