Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982

Cho Nam-Joo traces one ordinary Korean woman's life from childhood to motherhood, and in doing so maps the pressures that shaped it at every stage. Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 is told in a flat, case-study register that reports slights, expectations and quiet exclusions as though compiling evidence. The structure moves chronologically through school, work and family life, and the restraint of the prose is what gives the accumulation its force. Translated into English by Jamie Chang, the novel became a focal point for public argument about gender in South Korea and far beyond it. The short version: • A life told in chronological sections from childhood through motherhood • A deliberately plain, documentary narrative voice • School, workplace and family expectations examined in close detail • An English translation prepared by Jamie Chang Suited to book clubs and readers of contemporary translated fiction, published by Simon & Schuster and available at Boipoka.