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James Kidd

Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982
by Cho Nam-joo
Scribner
4/5 stars
First published in 2016, Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 became a phenomenon in South Korea and made its author, Cho Nam-joo,a heroine of the #MeToo movement. For that, she owes everything to her titular heroine, whose name is Korea’s equivalent of Jane Doe.
The story opens near the end, in autumn 2015, when Kim is 33 – “or thirty-four in Korean age”. Married three years earlier, to Dae-hyun, she became a mother the year before.
On the morning of baengno (the day the weather is cold enough to freeze the dew), Kim began to exhibit “ab­normal behaviour”, speaking about herself in the third person, ventriloqui­sing her friend Cha Seung-yeon, who died during childbirth a few months earlier, and – worst of all – talk­ing back to Dae-hyun’s parents. A diagnosis of postnatal depression explains only so much.
Reversing to 1982, the novel depicts Kim’s life as one of continuous misogyny – emanating variously from her grandmother, parents, teachers, employers, husband, in-laws and most recently the medical establishment.
While the target of Cho’s critique is her homeland, both the sharpness of her prose and unflinching truth of her observations will strike chords every­where books are read. The new English translation is a brilliant and timely novel.


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South Korea

Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982: the book that became a symbol of South Korea’s Me Too movement

The novel Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982, by Cho Nam-joo, became a cultural touchstone for the Me Too movement in South Korea when it was released in 2016.

Korean stars Gong Yoo and Jung Yu-mi’s feminist film Kim Ji-young, Born 1982 set to premiere in October

Korean stars Gong Yoo, left, and Jung Yu-mi co-star in the feminist movie Kim Ji Young, Born in 1982. Courtesy of Management Soop

How symbol of South Korea’s Me Too era gave voice to women silenced by sexist culture

A protest supporting the Me Too movement on International Women's Day in Seoul, South Korea, on March 8, 2018. Photo: Reuters

In this Feb. 25, 2018, photo, the crowd stage a rally supporting the MeToo movement in Seoul, South Korea. President Moon Jae-in said in a meeting with his advisers Monday, Feb. 26, 2018, that he expressed respect to the victims who spoke up against some of South Korea's most powerful men for their sexual misconduct and urged authorities to investigate the cases thoroughly, according to his office's website. The signs read: " Sexual abuse of performances", "We support victims' courageous revelations". (Park Jin-hee/Newsis via AP)

Ahn Hee-jung, center, a former governor of South Chungcheong province, arrives at the Seoul High Court in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Feb. 1, 2019. A South Korean appeals court has sentenced Ahn to 3½ years in prison on charges of sexually abusing his secretary, in the highest profile conviction yet from investigations triggered by the country's growing #MeToo movement. (Kim Sun-ung/Newsis via AP)

Pic of the book "Kim Ji-young, Born in 1982"Photo: HANDOUT[FEATURES 2019]

This picture taken on June 9, 2018 shows a red placard reading "My life is not your porn" during a monthly protest by South Korean women against secretly-filmed spycam pornography in Seoul. Since May, the monthly demonstrations against secretly-filmed spycam pornography in Seoul has shattered records to become the biggest-ever women's protest in South Korea where the global #MeToo movement has unleashed an unprecedented wave of female-led activism. / AFP PHOTO / Jung Hawon / TO GO WITH SKorea-crime-gender, FOCUS BY Jung Hawon

E94PJH September 10, 2013, Seoul, South Korea - Korea - The weeknight crowd on a rainy night near Gangnam Station

A promising politician who had ambitions of becoming South Korea's next president resigned Tuesday after his secretary accused him of raping her. Ahn Hee-jung, 52, the governor of South Chungcheong province has become the latest high-profile figure to fall in the #MeToo movement quickly spreading across the male-dominated society. His dramatic fall came a day after the secretary, Kim Ji-eun (pictured), made the accusation on a TV news show.

What K-pop sex-and-drug scandals say about the dark reality that belies South Korea’s conservative values

When performing on stage, K-pop acts such as Red Velvet are hyper-sexualised, wearing skimpy clothes and dancing provocatively. Yet off-stage they present a squeaky-clean image.

epa07435478 South Korean Singer Jung Joon-young (C) talks to reporters after arriving at the Metropolitan Police Agency in Seoul, South Korea, 14 March 2019, to be questioned over allegations that he secretly filmed himself engaging in sexual activities with women and shared the footage with fellow entertainers in a mobile chat room. Jung is accused of recording the videos, without consent, of at least 10 women between 2015 and 2016. EPA-EFE/YONHAP SOUTH KOREA OUT

Seungri, a member of South Korean K-pop band Big Bang, arrives to be questioned over a sex bribery case at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency in Seoul, South Korea, March 14, 2019. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

K-pop acts such as Blackpink on stage are hyper-sexualised, wearing skimpy clothes and dancing provocatively, playing up the well-known “lolita” complex and appealing to older male fans. Their image is then carefully constructed to have them perceived as blissfully unaware of what a real grown-up, modern relationship is like.

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First published in 2016, Cho Nam-joo’s novel gave voice to women silenced by the country’s inherent misogyny
The titular protagonist, whose name is equivalent to Jane Doe, details a life of constant discrimination



First published in 2016, Cho Nam-joo’s novel gave voice to women silenced by the country’s inherent misogyny.


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