Claire Kohda

A woman’s lot is not a happy one in Kim Jiyoung’s Born 1982

Cho Nam-Joo’s novel describes the harassment and abuse of women from cradle to grave in South Korea

‘Buy pink baby clothes,’ Kim Jiyoung, the protagonist of this bestselling South Korean novel is told at the obstetrician’s surgery. Jiyoung’s mother responds: ‘It’s okay, the next one will be a boy.’ There are multiple births in this book. Births of girls are always met with disappointment, while those of sons are celebrated.

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