A review by robyn1998
Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 by Cho Nam-joo

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

I was blown away by this. It was eye-opening, infuriating, depressing, and intensely relatable at times. I've been reading a lot of South Korean literature this year and this informative stance really helps to contextualise a lot of situations I've read about. It's troubling to know that women experience similar issues in South Korea as in Britain but, seemingly, to a larger degree, especially when it comes to workers' rights and childcare. The empathetic look the author took to Ji-Young's experiences of harassment and inequality was very validating as well. I try not to think of how many of us as women have experienced sexual assault or threats as the scale is depressingly vast. I don't even know if I would want to read any more of Cho Nam-Ju's work as it seems to largely centre around those issues and it's just too upsetting. 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings