Kim Ji Young Born 1982 – Book Review

A fierce international bestseller that launched Korea’s new feminist movement, Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 follows one woman’s psychic deterioration in the face of rigid misogyny.

Truly, flawlessly, completely, she became that person.

In a small, tidy apartment on the outskirts of the frenzied metropolis of Seoul lives Kim Jiyoung. A thirtysomething-year-old “millennial everywoman,” she has recently left her white-collar desk job—in order to care for her newborn daughter full-time—as so many Korean women are expected to do. But she quickly begins to exhibit strange symptoms that alarm her husband, parents, and in-laws: Jiyoung impersonates the voices of other women—alive and even dead, both known and unknown to her. As she plunges deeper into this psychosis, her discomfited husband sends her to a male psychiatrist.

In a chilling, eerily truncated third-person voice, Jiyoung’s entire life is recounted to the psychiatrist—a narrative infused with disparate elements of frustration, perseverance, and submission. Born in 1982 and given the most common name for Korean baby girls, Jiyoung quickly becomes the unfavored sister to her princeling little brother. Always, her behavior is policed by the male figures around her—from the elementary school teachers who enforce strict uniforms for girls, to the coworkers who install a hidden camera in the women’s restroom and post their photos online. In her father’s eyes, it is Jiyoung’s fault that men harass her late at night; in her husband’s eyes, it is Jiyoung’s duty to forsake her career to take care of him and their child—to put them first.

Jiyoung’s painfully common life is juxtaposed against a backdrop of an advancing Korea, as it abandons “family planning” birth control policies and passes new legislation against gender discrimination. But can her doctor flawlessly, completely cure her, or even discover what truly ails her?

Kim Ji Young born 1982, follows the story of a woman named Kim Ji Young who faced many obstacles in her life, simply because she was a woman.

This is one of the most realistic stories I have read, even though it is a work of fiction. Sometimes being a woman in this society, even today can be tough. Men are perceived as breadwinners while women are expected to be a housewife and look after the children and expect to quit her job, whatever career she was in. The story outlined Kim Ji Young’s life–from childhood to adulthood. How her grandparents treat their grandsons way different from the way they treat their granddaughters. Even in schools, boys are favored over girls. The unfairness of gender inequality that still seem to linger around even in today’s society makes you feel angry, disappointed as a woman. Not to mention that women are considered as “weaker” sex compared to men.

I have read somewhere that the author has done research to prove that sexism still exist in South Korea. Especially around workplaces. So despite being a work of fiction, Kim Ji Young born 1982 is based on author’s personal experiences and the statistics of sexism in modern South Korea.

The book was short and can easily be finished quickly. I listened to the audiobook and I have always wanted to read this book for a while. I haven’t still watched the movie yet and I am curious to watch the movie now that I have read the book. Overall, I give this book a five star rating.