Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982
Ratings238
Average rating4.1
with the exception of a truly exceptional last two chapters on parenthood, this was a very run-of-the-mill coming of age story. basically, if you're read any new-adult novel recently, you've probably read a better book.
Kim Ji-young representa a todas las mujeres. Sin duda un libro lleno de golpes de realidad. La autora se merece todo el reconocimiento que ha obtenido gracias a este libro. Ha conseguido exponer como es la misogina desde nada más que nacemos. Donde se nos juzga por cualquier cosa, ¿por qué no estudias magisterio que para las mujeres es mejor? ¿por qué no quieres tener hijos? ¿no deberías dejar de trabajar para atender a tus hijos?... Sin ninguna duda este libro lo debería leer todo el mundo.
Un maravilloso compendio del machismo institucional que padecen las mujeres en Corea del Sur y, mucho me temo, en todo el mundo. Me ha resultado muy enriquecedor.
I love this book. The way it's written is truly genius in my opinion. You read about all those situations women find themselves in over and over again that are so unfair and wrong, but they can't even tell it's wrong because they've never known life to be any different. The book reflects on a lot of important topics and makes you think differently.
There are so many progressive thoughts in the book too and then the last chapter practically proves that even though the world has changed a lot, the way people think and behave hasn't. Society still hasn't changed. The knowledge is there, but the awareness that something is unfair and the conscious decision to change their behaviour and thoughts isn't. And with that last chapter, I really think the book emphasised that really well.
I'm glad that I read this book because I saw it from Jack Edwards and other Booktube videos. It's a short book but it packs a punch because it takes on a journey of Kim Jiyong who eventually gets psychosis and has to face sexism and misogyny from a young age in a conservative country like South Korea.
Lettlest, men samtidig tankevekkende utfordrende, og først og fremst viktig feministisk novellette som først og fremst handler om kvinners vilkår i Sør-Korea på 2000-tallet, men som slår meg likevel hardt fordi den også handler om den systemiske måten vi har bygd skillet mellom menn og kvinner opp gjennom historien. Styrker feministen i meg.
Rent litterært noe oppramsende, men samtidig snurrig opplysende.
this was a really well written, well executed book, just not perfect for my tastes. i wish the little speculative element had come into play more and at different points in the story, and overall i just think that entire element was under utilized. however, this is an incredibly smart novel. it knew what it was saying and how to say it and all of the impactful, emotional moments really resonated. i have a few nitpicky issues, but those could've been intentional, though still detracted from my reading experience.
This book made me both mad and sad, but mostly mad. In a good way though!
I love that it's fiction but also kind of non-fiction (the author interweaves some statistics throughout the book), and I absolutely love that it's feminist. It's a pretty short book so I think it would also make for a good book club kind of book.
4.5/5
This book made me both mad and sad, but mostly mad. In a good way though!
I love that it's fiction but also kind of non-fiction (the author interweaves some statistics throughout the book), and I absolutely love that it's feminist. It's a pretty short book so I think it would also make for a good book club kind of book.
4.5/5
For such a short book, Kim Ji-Young Born 1982 has a huge impact and an important story to tell. Bringing to light a difficult and often brushed aside topic of misogyny in Korean society that unfortunately is still rampant today, Cho Nam-Joo uses her protagonists' crisis to bring to the forefront what many women in South Korea are feeling. In ways it felt down right disturbing and is meant to make you feel uncomfortable at the blatant sexism and to impact the reader enough to check your own thoughts on the imbalance. A highly contested novel in South Korea, I see why it made waves there, but I also see how important it is to have been written and published. Maybe because I saw myself in Kim Ji-Young being of a similar age and with similar societal expectations on where I should be in my life, I found her story quite profound, although I've never felt the misogyny to near the extent she does, nor am I Korean and had to face the degree of ingrained cultural pressures she does. I don't think this is a toxic feminist book, but a very imperative and necessary lense to look at the root of an issue that needs to be voiced, discussed and a way to change how people perceive women in a long standing culture that often prizes men. I can see why it was important to women in Korea, and I'm glad it was translated for those of us interested in South Korea and Korean culture in general to gain a bit of understanding into this controversial subject.
A book that every woman-identifying-person and feminist must-read. There are many trigger warnings, so take that into consideration. However, this fictional account of a womens life in Korea and the sacrifices she has to make is based in reality. The facts were given by the author that supports the situations the main character finds herself in are both appalling yet unsurprising.
This follows Kim from when she's a little girl to adulthood and talks about all the social issues Korean women had (have) to deal with. Essentially, it will give you the context and background for a lot of current issues.
And in case anyone is wondering, I wouldn't call it feminist at all. The book is a bit dry and in a way a compilation of everything wrong with the society, but not at all untrue. As I was reading it, I recognized most of these issues, since they're also prevalent where I'm from.
Fue como un balde de agua helada a mi condición de mujer joven. Encontré varios paralelismos a mi vida y a la de las mujeres de mi entorno que hasta es bochornoso comentarlo.
La mención de estadísticas y datos, impactantes pero fríos, me cortaba el hilo de la lectura. Sin embargo, esto queda excusado al considerar quién es el narrador.
‘'Help out? What is it with you and ‘'helping out?'' You're going to ‘'help out'' with chores. ‘'Help out'' with raising your baby. ‘'Help out'' with finding me a new job. Isn't this your house, too? Your home? Your child? And if I work, don't spend my pay, too? Why do you keep saying ‘'help out'' like you're volunteering to pitch in on someone else's work?''
You are harassed at school by a cruel boy. Your teacher smiles and tells you it's because he ‘'likes'' you, this is how boys communicate their...affection and you'll eventually get used to it. You are threatened with rape at a bus stop, thankfully saved by a considerate lady. Your father blames your stubbornness in choosing an after-school activity and implies that your skirt is too short. Your idle, lazy, useless brother has the right to take the largest portion during dinner while you and your sister HAVE to be happy with whatever is left. I mean, why aren't YOU happy with that? And it doesn't stop there. Oh, no. Your mother supports you and urges you to follow your dream. And you do. You deserve a promotion but you're overlooked because you lack a penis. You get married and go through the Holy Inquisition organised by your (moron) husband's relatives on how to conceive a child. And it had better be a boy, ok? We need BOYS! The ones who will benefit our bloody society. You give up your work and you're called a parasite living off your husband's hard-earned money. And then, you fall apart...Once more, welcome to Hell.
Meaning, a society reserved only for men.
If you are one of those who glorify certain countries and their way of life, it is urgent that you should read this book. Without the need for elaborate language and flowery descriptions, Cho Nam-Joo creates a novel that is the very definition of a punch in the stomach. It exposes all the ways a society can and does go horribly wrong, oppressing, abusing, violating. All with the blessings of a system that changes too little, too slowly, too inadequately. It mirrors issues that have been going on for so long in every society of our world and the fact that every single one of our weaknesses will be exploited by states and family alike. Do you find the strength to stand up or do you let yourself be smothered by habit and shameless direct and indirect blackmailing and abusing? This outstanding novel leaves little room for hope...
‘'You're right, in a world where doctors can cure cancer and do heart transplants, there isn't a single pill to treat menstrual cramps.' Her sister pointed at her own stomach. ‘'The world wants our uterus to be drug-free. Like sacred grounds in a virgin forest.''
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tw: sexism, misogyny, sexual harassment, depression, mentions of suicide and miscarriage.
this book is definitely a new favorite. it is one i would love to purchase a physical copy, reread, and annotate. i would recommend this book to everyone to read. it's such a beautiful and powerful novel. i got so frustrated and infuriated at some of the situations that happened that i almost threw my kindle across the room.
this is a story about misogyny in the workplace, gender roles in a family, and forced motherhood. i really felt for jiyoung having to give up so much to live a “normal” life for a woman. women have always had to give up so much for these gender roles that are passed down from generations. between not getting a good positions in the workplace, having to give up your life and dreams for a child, or being seen as an object to men. damn we can't ever win.
jiyoung's story is one that we could all relate to someway or another. it shows us how far we've come but also how much work we still need to do to be seen as equals.
tw: sexism, misogyny, sexual harassment, depression, mentions of suicide and miscarriage.
this book is definitely a new favorite. it is one i would love to purchase a physical copy, reread, and annotate. i would recommend this book to everyone to read. it's such a beautiful and powerful novel. i got so frustrated and infuriated at some of the situations that happened that i almost threw my kindle across the room.
this is a story about misogyny in the workplace, gender roles in a family, and forced motherhood. i really felt for jiyoung having to give up so much to live a “normal” life for a woman. women have always had to give up so much for these gender roles that are passed down from generations. between not getting a good positions in the workplace, having to give up your life and dreams for a child, or being seen as an object to men. damn we can't ever win.
jiyoung's story is one that we could all relate to someway or another. it shows us how far we've come but also how much work we still need to do to be seen as equals.
This is a short but very powerful novella.
One of the top selling books in S Korea this century, it brutally lays bare gender inequality and prevailing attitudes. Told from a dispassionate 3rd person perspective, I found the statistics and footnotes initially odd in a novel, but as it goes on they become strangely compelling.
“People call me ‘mom-roach.'”
“The coffee was 1500 won. They were drinking the same coffee, so they must have known how much it was. Tell me—don't I deserve to drink a 1500-won cup of coffee? I don't care if it's 1500 won or 15 million won. It's nobody's business what I do with the money my husband made. Am I stealing from you? I suffered deathly pain having our child. My routine, my career, my dreams, my entire life, my self—I gave it all up to raise our child. And I've become vermin. What do I do now?”
The woman's life is a fictional account, but I've marked it as nonfiction because it is set against a background of facts that are cited.
I hadn't realized that the gender pay gap in Korea (women making about 63 percent of a man's wage) was about the same for the US, which varies also on race.
Well! I'm probably gonna need to read something REAL fluffy after this! This short book was surprisingly depressing and unsettling. Like, I finished over my lunch break and then just sat there because HUH, that ... is disturbing.
I wish I had gotten a bit more of Jiyoung's personality throughout, but by the end, it made sense why that was not provided. I also wished that there had been more exploration of her multiple-voices thing that was introduced at the beginning; I thought there would be more of that after we got her life story, why she was having the issues she was having, and HOO BOY, get ready to RAGE about some patriarchal bullshit! It's pretty shocking, and also sad that it isn't that shocking in Korea. Women put up with a lot of crap everywhere, but I felt so crummy for Jiyoung, for stay-at-home mothers, for women in the workforce. It was all just terrible. And I didn't know it was terrible.
A good read, but yeah. Depressing and unsettling. 3.5 stars.
The book is written in the matter of fact tone of a psychiatrist tasked with examining the contours of Kim Jiyoung's life to decipher what might have triggered her recent breakdown. It's a novel conceit that serves to frame the book's true purpose of exploring the misogyny that permeates every aspect of Korean life.
From childhood where her younger brother is pampered and centered, given clear preference over his two sisters - to elementary school where the taunts and bullying of the boys are dismissed with the all too familiar refrain of “boys will be boys!”
Jiyoung endures the leering glances and “playful” pinches of teachers in highschool. She graduates into a culture where only 30% of new employees hired at over 100 top companies are actually women. Those lucky few who do find employment can hope to earn 63 cents to every dollar their male peers make. Korea is recognized as the worst developed nation to be a working woman.
It's hardly a literary story and feels more like a rosetta stone to understand the works coming out of present-day Korea. In fact it should be a required companion piece to Han Kang's much lauded book The Vegetarian, providing context to Yeong-hye's oblique story.
Damn, this book is scathing. It's told like a fable but the story transcends time or even place.