As my time at home in quarantine only seemed to drag on, I decided to start reading a book, Kim Ji-young, Born 1982. Published back on October 14, 2016, by author Cho Nam-Ju, this novel became the first novel to sell more than a million copies in the last decade. Its popularity has spread from Korea to other countries like China, Japan, and even the US as translated publications are made worldwide. By looking at the simple storyline detailing the life of a woman in the mid-30s. There is no backstabbing plot twist, love affair, or dangerous journey. It is a straightforward plot sharing the memories and experiences of a woman named Kim Ji-young, born in 1982. To dive into the deeper reason behind the popularity of this book, I would like to highlight what I have felt reading the book as well as the news and talk about the book before I purchased it.
To begin, the name Kim Ji-young is a generic one, synonymous with the American Joe or Jane. Thus, the protagonist’s life experience from her childhood to school, marriage, and professional career is the representation of the average Korean woman. In the author's words, Kim Ji-young is a "vessel that contains experiences and emotions that are common to every Korean woman" (NPR). Taking the author only three months of writing to complete the book, author Cho incorporated self-anecdotal aspects and real-life examples and data on Korea's lack of gender equality. Of the OECD countries, South Korea ranks rock bottom for having the largest gender-based wage gap of 35%. Women make 63 cents to a man's dollar despite being as equally schooled as men in the same competitive education system. Cho wanted to make it public that almost half of working-age women are home. Women also continue to face outdated “harsh stigmas exist around menstruation, pregnancy, and childbirth” (NPR).
When reading the book, I became upset, though not surprised, by the undisguised forms of sexism Kim Ji-young, her mother, and every other female character faced. The examples of oppression, ranging from the order in which school lunch was served to Kim Ji-young’s annual holiday cooking at her in-laws, and the delays in receiving higher education because of a male family member, everything was so common and obvious to me that it was also deeply upsetting and frustrating. This was the first book in which women could see the panoramic reflection of their daily, collective plights (NPR).
The feminist agenda of this novel is nonexistent. Perhaps except the fact that it was a book about a woman’s life, the book doesn’t culminate in a larger picture of growing feminism, and the radical feminism movement, of South Korea. It was, however, timed perfectly around the latest wave of Korean feminism with the emergence of #MeToo and the Escape the Corset movement against strict, unrealistic beauty standards. And so, the book became a reference point for conversations around feminism and gender inequality. In addition, it became the target for the large, brutal anti-feminist following in Korea.
Overall, I believe that Kim Ji-young, Born 1982 is a good cultural reference in understanding the lives in which half of the population lead. The book is even more interesting and important as it presents the unbiased, real experiences of South Korean culture, showing the realities of how a deeply patriarchal society shapes the lives of women in the modern day.
Sources:
Cho, Nam-ju. Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982. Minumsa, 2016.
Hu, Elise. “South Korean Bestseller 'Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982' Gives Public Voice To Private Pain.” NPR, NPR, 19 Apr. 2020, www.npr.org/2020/04/19/835486224/south-korean-bestseller-kim-jiyoung-born-1982-gives-public-voice-to-private-pain.
Comments
Hi Ellie, this sounds like a very interesting book. I like your critique of its lack of call to action or nonexistent feminist agenda. I think its presence is important but works like this should be followed by some push to change which is different than just stating the fact. However, of course we must first realize as a society the problems that seem as though they are in plain sight to move forward. So, in that sense, like you stated, it does have a powerful aim.
Wow, I definitely want to read this book now. As I was reading your post I though that you’d say the book is popular because it tells the straightforward story of an average Korean woman, hence it started growing in popularity as more people found it relatable, but I really like how you found that its popularity is tied to the rise of the feminist movement and how the book simply revealing the discrimination faced by an average woman makes it important and relevant.