Yesterday, I wrote about the novel Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 by Cho Nam-Joo (2016). Despite its slim size, at just around 170 pages, the book stirred up considerable controversy in South Korea. It sparked protests from men and garnered widespread support from women, igniting national conversations on gender inequality in the country.
A bit of background: months before the book was published in the fall of 2016, a young woman was murdered near the Gangnam metro station in Seoul in what was later described as a misogynistic crime. The perpetrator testified in court, claiming, "I had been ignored by women for so long and couldn’t take it anymore, so I murdered a woman." This crime is more than shocking—it’s almost incomprehensible. A man felt entitled to women's attention and, when denied, responded with murder. It reflects a deeply ingrained patriarchal belief that women owe men something merely by existing, as if male entitlement is his birthright.
The author, Cho Nam-Joo, described the protagonist as "a vessel that contains experiences and emotions common to every Korean woman."
Though the novel paints a grim picture of an ordinary woman’s life in Korea, I believe that while Kim Jiyoung reflects the average woman, she also represents hope.
Early in life, she developed a "female consciousness," which heightened her awareness of the injustices around her. This awareness, however, caused her immense pain, eventually leading to her mental breakdown. The author doesn’t explicitly state this, but readers can easily sense it.
Female consciousness is the realization of gender inequality and the refusal to accept it as natural, inevitable, or unchangeable. It’s the understanding that you are living as a woman in a patriarchal society. This awareness is an essential awakening for women to achieve self-realization.
For instance, when Jiyoung’s teacher said, "He bullies you because he likes you," Jiyoung thought, "That’s not right. If he likes me, he should treat me kindly, not hit me until I cry."
Another telling moment occurs during a job interview when the interviewer asked three female university students, including Kim Jiyoung, a deeply inappropriate question: "If you were meeting with a client and they made physical contact, such as casually touching your thigh, how would you react? One student said she would protest and take legal action. Another said she would reflect on her own behavior and wardrobe. Kim Jiyoung chose a more neutral response, saying she would make an excuse to leave. None of the three women passed the interview. Upon learning the result, Jiyoung was outraged, thinking, "If I’d known, I would’ve just said what I really felt—‘I’d smash his hand.’ She also realized that if she were a man, she would never have been asked such a question. She wanted to tell the interviewer, "Asking such a question under the pretense of an interview is itself sexual harassment."
Before having a child, Jiyoung grew anxious about what she might lose. Her husband reassured her, saying, “Don’t focus only on what you’ll lose.” Jiyoung sharply replied, You can say that because you won’t lose anything. I, on the other hand, could lose my youth, health, job, professional connections, and even my life plans and dreams. So of course, I’m focusing on what I’ll lose. But what will you lose? Her husband simply responded that he would lose some time with friends and need to work harder.
Jiyoung, by nature, was patient, quiet, and gentle—never the one to loudly protest. Yet, her suppressed discontent ultimately led to her mental breakdown, manifesting as Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID). The two women who "possessed" her were representations of her repressed self—symbols of her awakened but silenced female consciousness.
Tragically, it was only by adopting the identities of others that Kim Jiyoung could find the courage to speak her truth. Only after being labeled as "mad woman" could she finally express her real feelings. And even then, her truths were simple: telling her husband that she was truly exhausted and needed him to show more care, and telling her in-laws that holiday chores left her physically drained and that she longed to spend the holidays with her own parents, not in-laws.
The story of Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 is also a powerful commentary on the pervasive issues faced by women in Korea and beyond. Through Jiyoung’s journey, the novel lays bare the systemic injustices that women endure and highlights the crucial awakening of female consciousness. This awareness, though painful, is essential for self-realization and societal change.
As we confront the deeply ingrained patriarchal norms and tradition, and the tragic reality of misogynistic violence happened near the Gangnam metro station in Seoul, Jiyoung's story reminds us of the struggles many women face and serves as a beacon of hope for a more equitable future. Her journey from silent victim to the voice of a DID woman underscores this hope and the need for a broader dialogue about gender equality and the courage required to challenge entrenched injustices.
Finally, let us never forget this, "The eternal feminine draws us upward" from the final lines of Goethe's Faust.