In a small, tidy apartment on the outskirts of the frenzied metropolis of Seoul, Kim Jiyoung–a millennial “everywoman”–spends her days caring for her infant daughter. Her husband, however, worries over a strange symptom that has recently appeared: Jiyoung has begun to impersonate the voices of other women–dead and alive, both known and unknown to her. Truly, flawlessly, completely, she became … became that very person. As she plunges deeper into this psychosis, Jiyoung’s concerned husband sends her to a psychiatrist, who listens to her narrate her own life story–from her birth to a family who expected a son, to elementary school teachers who policed girls’ outfits, to male coworkers who installed hidden cameras in women’s restrooms and posted the photos online. But can her doctor cure her, or even discover what truly ails her? Rendered in eerie prose, Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 announces the arrival of a major international writer.
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An educational read, the feminist fictional book that began Korea’s version of the MeToo movement.
Uno de los libros más comentados del momento, originalmente llamada 82
, fue publicada en 2016 para revolucionar todo un país. La traducción llego gracias a Joo Hasun.
Kim Ji-young conserva en su vida el inmenso amor por su hija, y un pasado atiborrado de sacrificios y desilusiones.
Un día, el esposo de Kim, la escucha hablar con la voz de una amiga ya fallecida, en otra ocasión con la voz de su madre o diciendo cosas sin sentido.
Lo que parece una broma al inicio, adquiere el matiz de una insurrección, y para los demás, el carácter de una enfermedad.
Sobre la historia.
La historia nos cuenta la vida de Kim, una mujer coreana que nació en 1982, y que posee el nombre más común para las mujeres nacidas en ese año, y que nos mostrara lo difícil que ese una mujer en Corea del Sur.
La narrativa de la historia es bastante atrapante, y me gustó mucho que la escritora adjunto datos estadísticos en la historia, y los supo manejar para que todo fuese sencillo de leer y no recargara la lectura para el espectador.
Pese a que casi siempre se sigue la historia desde la perspectiva de Kim Ji-Young, hay personajes que son dignos de admirar, como la mamá de Kim, quien es la que maneja “el poder” de la casa y no se intimida a la hora de decir las cosas a su esposo. También la hermana de Kim, quien desde niña se cuestiona las injusticias que vive en casa en comparación con su hermano varón.
Para nosotras como mujeres, la vida será en ocasiones más complicada solo por eso, y pese a que las cosas han cambiado mucho en comparación con décadas anteriores, en países asiáticos, las cosas no han cambiado mucho. Y esto es justamente lo que nos narra la historia, nos narra las desventajas, desigualdades, he injusticias que vive una mujer en Corea del Sur que va por la vida sin pena ni gloria. Kim nació en una “época” en que para una mujer era mejor parir hijos varones por que eran los que “contaban”, y lo vemos reflejado en la historia con la mamá de Kim.
La historia esta dividida en tres partes, la primera en la que Kim es una niña, y se enfrenta a los estigmas y las desigualdades frente a su hermano, la segunda presenta Kim entrando en la vida adulta y, por último, tenemos a Kim en su vida de casada.
El libro trata temas muy reales, y llegamos a leer el libro para enterarnos sobre la vida de Kim, y terminamos entendiendo la vida de ella y comparándola con muchas situaciones similares que nos ocurren a nosotras. Algo que no me gusto y es la razón por la cual no le doy las cinco estrellas es por que la sinopsis promete una historia totalmente diferente a lo que leí.
Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982, by Cho Nam-Joo, is a novel written as the psych case notes for a patient. The main symptom in this patient is a strange identity shift, she sometimes answers questions as her mother and sometimes as an old friend, although she seems otherwise perfectly healthy. The story covers Jiyoung’s life, in a dispassionate way, from childhood through university, work, marriage and finally motherhood. It’s interesting partly because it feels like a generic story, more about a generation than Jiyoung in particular. (Apparently Kim Jiyoung is a pretty generic name, too.) The story is full of elements of Korean life, like mandatory work drinks and strict student hierarchy, but the endless waves of gender discrimination that Jiyoung experiences feels familiar.
This is not a suspense novel, but the final pages have a particularly distressing revelation, showing how just deeply unaware of this system even well-meaning, intelligent men can be.
Kim Ji-young, Born 1982 is the story of one Korean woman’s experience of sexism throughout her life. Kim Ji-young, whose name is the Korean equivalent of Jane Doe, is a perfectly average married, thirty something stay at home mum who finds herself having disassociative episodes as her child grows older. As part of her treatment, she recounts her life to her psychiatrist in excruciating, mind-numbing detail, recounting all of the little instances of sexism and discrimination that have led up to this point of her life. This is a short read but an intense one. The style of writing is very sparse, almost academic (citations are included!) which makes this sometimes feel more like a case study than a novel. But ultimately I think this choice suited the subject matter and drove home the relentless and pedestrian nature of the discrimination Ji-young faced. While some of these instances are specific to South Korean culture (cameras in the bathrooms! Wtf!?!), much of what Ji-young had to put up with is unfortunately all too common. Seeing it laid out in this way was very impactful.
Set in South Korea, KIM JIYOUNG, BORN 1982 by Cho Nam-Joo, really paints a vivid picture of the myriad struggles women face simply because of their gender. The plight of women living in a male-dominated society will likely not be a surprise to many women readers, irrespective of where they live, but this fictionalised format still made me want to rage with anger and sadness. I was both infuriated and discouraged.
The fictional narrative is supported with references from official reports and studies. This might disengage some readers but I appreciated the foundation upon which the story was built. I believed what I was reading.
This is by no means an uplifting read, but it is educational and stirring. I highly recommend it.