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Kim Ji-young, Born 1982

by Cho Nam-Joo
176 pages 2016 Literary Fiction, Feminist Fiction, Korean Literature 🌶️ Clean Standalone
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The Vibe

Kim Ji-young is an ordinary Korean woman. She went to school, got a job, married, had a baby. At each stage, being female cost her something. Told as a clinical case study by her psychiatrist, this tiny book ignited a feminist movement across Asia. The statistics in the footnotes are real.

Mood Meter

Romance
2/10
Fantasy / Magic
0/10
Pacing
7/10
Darkness
5/10
Humor
1/10
Angst
7/10

Mood Tags

QuietDevastatingStatisticalFeminist

Trope Tags

EverywomanGender InequalityCase StudyKorean Society

Spice Check

🌶️ Clean

Clean — sociological literary fiction.

Content Heads-Up

Is This Book for You?

Skip if you dislike:

Ending: Open
Pacing: Fast

What This Book Feels Like

Moods: Quiet Devastating Statistical Feminist

Tropes: Everywoman Gender Inequality Case Study Korean Society

If You Loved This, Try These

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Mieko Kawakami
Same East Asian feminist literary fiction
The Vegetarian
Han Kang
Same quiet devastating feminist power
Convenience Store Woman
Sayaka Murata
Same woman-vs-society theme

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it a novel?

Hybrid — reads like a case study with footnotes citing real statistics.

Did it cause controversy?

Massive — K-pop stars who posted about it received death threats.

Is it only relevant to Korea?

The specifics are Korean; the experience is universal.

Keep Exploring

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