Her goal was clear: to shed light into the deeply entrenched sexism that has been rampant in South Korean society. In writing this novella, Cho drew inspirations from her own experiences. If Irene and Suzy Bae’s situation was any indication, Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 was a badly needed literary piece. Just as we never question why men’s national registry numbers begin with a “1” and women’s begin with a “2.”” ~ Cho Nam-Joo, Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982

Boys lined up first, boys led every procession no matter where they were headed, boys gave their presentations first, and boys had their homework checked first while the girls quietly waited their turn, bored, sometimes relieved that they weren’t going first, but never thinking this was a strange practice. “Number one on the roster was a boy, everything began with the boys, and that felt like the right, natural thing. Suzy Bae, another popular Korean celebrity, was in the same dire straits that Irene found herself in. In fact, any scraps of feminism espoused in Korean literature is frowned upon and any celebrities seen carrying these feminist works usually face backlash. South Korea is known as a patriarchal society and it was no surprise that the novel’s most vocal critics were from men. The novel was met with heavy cynicism for its content. However, the book elicited its fair share of critics. He was quoted saying that “everyone should embrace it”. It piqued everyone’s interest that no less than the South Korean President Moon Jae-in himself recommended the book.

Immediately after its release, it became the book to sell over one million copies since Kyung Sook-Shin’s Please Look After Mom. Originally published in 2016 in Korean, Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982, was a commercial success. As she grew older, it became increasingly palpable to Jiyoung that there was a stark dichotomy in how males and females were viewed, not just in her home but all over her country. Despite being elder, she and her older sister, Kim Eunyoung, grew up under the shadows of their younger brother, who was treated like a royalty by their grandmother and parents. She was also given the most common Korean name for girls. She was the middle child and was the second daughter.

Her family came from a modest background. The eponymous Kim Jiyoung was born on Apin the South Korean capital of Seoul. What was the book that she was spotted carrying and reading that it was met with such intense backlash? It was Cho Nam-Joo’s novel, Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982. Some of these radical fans took videos and pictures of their actions and posted it on social media. Many of her and her group’s male fans started burning her pictures, their album, and group merchandizes. What she did not expect was the backlash that followed this incident. During one of her group fan meetings, Korean Pop (KPop) idol Irene of Red Velvet fame was spotted carrying a book.

Kim joo young born 1982 book