Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 by Cho Nam-Joo

Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 by Cho Nam-Joo is a scathing look at the treatment of women in modern Korean life. 

Kim Jiyoung starts acting weirdly. She starts saying things that are startling true about the plight of women and girls in society. And then this books goes back through her life, from her start as the daughter of a couple who wanted a son, through all of the harassment that comes from living in the body of a woman, to her unequal treatment at work, and how she had to give up her career to have a family. And then in the end, the cycle begins again. 

It's quick, but it's heartbreaking. It points out all misogyny and oppression Jiyoung experiences, but also backs up those experiences with footnotes and data. It's honest, it's powerful, and it's hard to read. It's not even hard to read because Jiyoung is hopeless, sexually assaulted, and paid two-thirds of her counterparts, but it's hard to read because there is no real solution offered here. It's going to keep happening to women, even women who know it's happening to them. 

4/5 stars

Lines of note:
She truly believed he was a decent husband to her for not sleeping around and not hitting her. (page 16)
How low the bar is for what a decent husband is.

Fortunately, Jiyoung had good colleagues at work and was adjusting relatively well to her first job, which was not as challenging, demoralizing, or exhausting as she had braced herself for. (page 106)
Another very low bar. 

Hat mentions:
None