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peachachu 's review for:
Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982
by Cho Nam-joo
So good! Really eye-opening look into the gender imbalance in South Korea. Kim Jiyoung is a sort of Korean "every-woman" who, after the birth of her first child, finds her mental health rapidly deteriorating, much to the alarm of her family and husband. Making our way back through Kim Jiyoung's memories, it becomes quickly apparent to the reader that her behavior is far from unexpected, but rather, the almost natural byproduct of a lifetime of misogyny and patriarchy.
I think almost every woman-identified person can relate to some of Kim Jiyoung's experiences as she moves from childhood to university to life in the Korean workforce, and then to being a wife and mother. Every part of her life is peppered with these little moments of unfairness, some very subtle, others much more offensive and outrageous. It's truly no wonder this book helped to spark the #MeToo movement in Korea, because as I read, I constantly found myself thinking, "yes, me too." At the very least, you've likely heard of someone who these things have happened to in real life.
Reading Kim Jiyoung gave a lot of context to little things I've noticed while living in South Korea as well, like why all of my male students come first on the registry, and the female students always come last. This is not to say the U.S. is without its daily dose of misogyny, of course, but the abundance of statistics and little anecdotes about the mental toll sexism takes on a person really highlights how it is still a huge issue in South Korea.
Definitely worth your time to give this book a read. It's definitely nothing new in terms of content (and if it IS new to you, perhaps consider you are part of the problem??), but it definitely serves to validate experiences women have on the daily in Korea, the U.S., and all across the world.
I think almost every woman-identified person can relate to some of Kim Jiyoung's experiences as she moves from childhood to university to life in the Korean workforce, and then to being a wife and mother. Every part of her life is peppered with these little moments of unfairness, some very subtle, others much more offensive and outrageous. It's truly no wonder this book helped to spark the #MeToo movement in Korea, because as I read, I constantly found myself thinking, "yes, me too." At the very least, you've likely heard of someone who these things have happened to in real life.
Reading Kim Jiyoung gave a lot of context to little things I've noticed while living in South Korea as well, like why all of my male students come first on the registry, and the female students always come last. This is not to say the U.S. is without its daily dose of misogyny, of course, but the abundance of statistics and little anecdotes about the mental toll sexism takes on a person really highlights how it is still a huge issue in South Korea.
Definitely worth your time to give this book a read. It's definitely nothing new in terms of content (and if it IS new to you, perhaps consider you are part of the problem??), but it definitely serves to validate experiences women have on the daily in Korea, the U.S., and all across the world.