What makes it special, is the way it draws in readers through its matter of fact telling of a story that plays out in every country that is burdened by patriarchy. Like the simple cover, it is a simple story, simply told. The cover with a sketch of a face framed by black hair but no features laid atop a city skyline, highlights by its absence, the commonplace life of its eponymous protagonist, Kim Jiyoung in urban South Korea.

This million-copy bestseller, written by Cho Nam-Joo, translated into English by Jamie Chang with audiobook narration by Jamie Parker deserves it’s tremendous success and more. What I didn’t know was how similar the cultures of these two countries were until I read Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982. But I'm glad it did well as if to show them.I knew that the Republic of Korea (South Korea) and India celebrate Independence Day on the 15th of August. Because of crazy people, it was over-the-top criticized. I teared up a bit because 's image overlapped with my mother's,' 'In Korea, that book is treated like a taboo book Loll.' 'Just thinking about the fact that the book only gets criticized in Korea makes me feel embarassed.' 'In Korea, gets a lot of criticism, but I can never understand why Loll.' 'They really seemed to read it a lot in Japan.'

'In Korea, they can't dare to promote this book and with one book, they frame it as weird.'

In response, some of the K-netizens commented: The novel provides a closer perspective to the common transition that women go through from starting out in their careers to becoming stay-at-home mothers after getting married, the depression they experience, and the sexism that women in the South Korean society face in their daily lives. Meanwhile, 'Kim Ji Young, Born 1982' depicts the story of a woman named Kim Ji Young, briefly describing her family background, her childhood, her life as a working adult, a wife, and as a mother. After 'Kim Ji Young, Born 1982', Han Kang's book 'The Vegetarian' sold more than 160,000 copies overseas in thirteen different languages, Son Won Pyung's 'Almond' achieved sales of more than 90,000 copies in Japan, and Jeong Yu Jeong's 'The Origin of Species' achieved a sales of more than 20,000 copies in Brazil. In particular, since it was distributed in Japan back in 2018, 'Kim Ji Young, Born 1982' achieved a sales of more than 200,000 copies and has established itself as a steady seller. The Korean best-selling novel 'Kim Ji Young, Born 1982', written by Cho Nam Joo, was recognized as the best-selling work among all Korean literature pieces distributed overseas for the past five years.Īccording to a survey conducted by the Literature Translation Institute of Korea, among the sales status of Korean literature works distributed overseas from 2016 through 2020, 'Kim Ji Young, Born 1982' achieved the highest sales with more than 300,000 copies sold in ten different languages.

Kim joo young born 1982 book