Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982

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

If I had a nickel for every time I read a book about a woman developing psychosis from postpartum depression I'd have two nickels, which isn't a lot but it's weird it happened twice.

In all seriousness, I really resonated with Jiyoung's story, especially the special treatment of her brother. I was even sharing excerpts of the book with my sister and we both mulled about the similarities between both Jiyoung's life and ours.

Reading about the experiences and sacrifices that us women have to go through just because we're women made me incredibly sad and disheartened, and usually I use reading as a way to escape from real world horrors, but I truly truly loved this book and was so glad that I read it.

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

I can't say I understand the hype on this one. The format and style felt off ??? a strange mix of fiction and non-fiction, including footnotes with sources. The shift to the doctor's perspective in the last chapter felt like it came out of nowhere and ended just as briskly. By that point I'd completely forgotten that a doctor was even involved in the story, even though I must have read it in the blurb. Even though we spend the entire book with the main character, I still feel like by the end, her condition hasn't been examined at all, only her role in society. Her taking on the personas of others doesn't feel like a condition or piece of characterisation in its own right but more like something tacked only for the sake of metaphor.

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.

A novella that shows they experiences of being a woman an korea through the generations and ages. This story packs a punch with it honesty but also with supporting her story with statistics. You can see the way women are bound to korean tradition, but also the universal harrassment women face all over the world.

Oh, do I have some thoughts on this book. First off, I found this book after reading The Vegetarian, it was recommended to me by the website, and they indeed have common themes. One of the main ones is simply being a woman in South Korea. What a dreadful thing. How do Korean women survive? I am so enraged on their behalf, and mine too.

It has been so tough on Kim Jiyoung to simply exist. She never got any real support, only empty words of encouragement, ultimately being left to fend for herself, to just deal with it. And then she was criticised too for things out of her control. And isn't that something that keeps happening over and over again and we are all so painfully aware of it, but other than fake encouragement words nothing gets done? Ugh, I'm pissed off.

Every time I had the impression that not every woman's situation is the same and that not every man in the book is the same, I was absolutely crushed. They absolutely are the same, with no question. Even when there was a glimmer of hope and no matter how hard I tried to hang on to that hope, it just wasn't happening. I disliked that so much.

And I disliked the narrator, what a self-righteous prick.

Needless to say the book is amazing, it is so powerful, even more when you can actually relate to it, and I would say there is no excuse to not reading it, but also there is a really high chance that some of the readers will not fully get it and I don't know what's worse, not knowing or knowing but not taking any action. There's no win on this one.

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.

Es gibt in diesem Buch nichts über dramatisches. Es ist wirklich nur eine Lebensgeschichte einer sehr normalen/typischen koreanischen Frau (fast zu langweilig) und ihre Erfahrungen habe ich zich mal bei anderen Charakteren in Kdramas gesehen. Natürlich war die Respektlosigkeit und Diskriminierung trotzdem sehr nervenzerrend, aber ehrlich gesagt habe ich noch schlimmeres erwartet;
Die Paar Fakten von diversen Studien zur Koreanischer weiblicher Bevölkerung und Gesetze die im Laufe des Lebens des Hauptcharakters verabschiedet wurden, waren interessant zu erfahren.

This novel is scheduled to be released in the US in April 2020 but I obtained an advance reading copy at a trade show. I was looking forward to reading another Korean novel in translation, but this was truly disappointing. It can be summarized as follows: Korea is still a terribly sexist country and professional women have an extremely hard time, especially if they are married with children, which is news to no one. The title character suffers this fate and has a breakdown. End of novel. The jacket blurb describes the prose as “eerie,” but I would call it dull, and I doubt this is a translation problem. I had hoped to write and place a review of this book in a magazine or newspaper, but I really have nothing good to say about it.

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.

3,5⭐️. Narrada en un estilo sobrio, casi podríamos decir heredero de la generación del 98 (salvando las distancias en el tiempo y el espacio), una prosa que no deja espacio para el lirismo ni la belleza formal; va al grano. Por momentos es muy efectiva y efectista (la escena del autobús es angustiosa). Cuenta la vida una mujer surcoreana y de su familia directa haciendo especial hincapié en la discriminación que sufren las mujeres en el país asiático en todos los ámbitos: familiar, educativo, laboral, social, económico, etc. El final, eso sí, es desalentador porque señala que la situación de discriminación laboral es un círculo vicioso muy difícil de romper.

Una denuncia del machismo arraigado en la cultura coreana firme, contundente pero sin las estridencias, escándalos ni fuegos de artificio que lamentablemente han contaminado de ideología política el movimiento feminista en las sociedades occidentales. Cho Nam-Joo alza una voz serena para mostrar una realidad que cambia muy poco a poco pero esperemos que definitivamente por el bien de la mujer asiática.

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.

3.8/5

This book reall exposes the realities of misogyny and societal inequality faced by countless women. Throughout the story, I found myself deeply empathizing with Jiyoung's struggles, her frustration mirroring experiences many women can relate to on a personal level.

However the constant barrage of statistics felt distracting. These facts, while intended to add context, occasionally pulled me out of the emotional flow of the story. It felt like reading a thesis at times. The ending kind of left me hanging too. I would have liked to know for sure if Jiyoung got better, but the book doesn't really say. Still, even without a clear ending, the story made me think a lot.

Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 serves as a powerful reminder of the challenges women continue to face. It shows how much things need to change for women to be treated fairly. It makes you mad, but it also makes you think, and that's a good thing.