She does sound quite like the dream employee. She is pretty, witty, charming, cheerful, warm, dresses well, and even remembers how he takes his coffee.Ĭertainly, a brownie point in Suyeon’s favour. He is reflecting on what a wonderful employee Suyeon has been. Kim Ji Young, Born 1982, ends with the male narrator, Jiyoung’s counsellor, who has been on a journey of ‘critical thinking’ for a while, observing the departure of Lee Suyeon, a colleague at the same clinic.
Why is it a given for her, and why must he be celebrated for that? He cannot hang out with his friends as much, and these things do matter, after all! She confronts her husband one day to ask what he means when he says he is contributing to the home by doing chores. She has to take a ‘break’ following her pregnancy to care for her child, while her husband rants about how life is about to change severely for him, too. She is blamed by her father for being harassed while out at night and is asked to ‘…just stay out of trouble and get married.’ She is told by her male colleague that being pregnant grants her the luxury of being late to work and yet continuing to enjoy the same pay – ‘a terrible affront to devoted, hardworking men such as him, and a blow to the company’s revenue!’ She makes her team coffee, remembers each member’s preferences, orders their takeaways, clears their dishes, and is passed over when it is time for promotions. Jiyoung is told her brother needs a room of his own, while she and her sister can share theirs. We all know women have to play the hand they are dealt. It does not matter whether one is a wife, mother, sister, or employee. Each chapter of her memory feels sharply familiar. Jiyoung lives as a daughter, sister, student, friend, girlfriend, employee, wife, and mother. It is easy as women have similar experiences universally and difficult because the familiarity is too painful. It is both easy and difficult to relate the story of Jiyoung, the protagonist of Cho Nam Joo’s 2016 novel Kim Ji Young, Born 1982, which was translated into English in 2018, and is widely acknowledged as one of the most important works from South Korea.
The mother chided Jiyoung for crying and complaining over a classmate ‘just messing around because he wanted to play.’ But there was nothing she could do about it besides running and crying to her mother and sister Eunyoung. The pranks felt more like harassment or violence.
Kim Jiyoung’s first obstacle at school was the ‘pranks of the boy desk-mate’, which many schoolgirls experienced. Each chapter of protagonist Kim Ji-young’s memory Kim Ji Young, Born 1982, feels sharply familiar Kim Ji Young, Born 1982 is widely acknowledged as one of the most important works from South Korea.
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