Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982: A Novel

Jiyoung’s mother is a complex character who has evolved along with the changing roles of women in society. As a child, she labored to send her brothers to school, missing her chance at higher education. She married and became a full-time mother intent upon giving birth to a boy. In these ways, she was constrained by traditional gender norms. But she also has significant economic agency, especially later in life. She repeatedly demonstrates a knack for business and investment, becoming a successful entrepreneur. Her husband is proud of the family’s late-career well-being, but Mother is quick to point out that she is responsible for their success.

She regrets that she did not have the opportunity to follow her career dreams of becoming a teacher and is careful not to pressure her daughters into motherhood. In one dramatic scene, she slams the table and admonishes Father for telling Jiyoung to focus on marriage. She demonstrates a modern viewpoint on women’s opportunities. Her daughters both earn college degrees, an opportunity denied to her at their age. Yet, she also defends giving her son preferential treatment within the family. Women have come a long way in her lifetime, but men still enjoy advantages at every turn.

Daehyun is Jiyoung’s husband. As the central male character in a novel that emphasizes sexism and discrimination, Daehyun is sometimes positioned as the story’s antagonist. He is portrayed as being thoughtful and considerate. But in a society founded on male privilege, even nice men contribute to women’s oppression.

Daehyun is a good listener and a stable partner, and he appreciates Jiyoung. But he readily accepts the perks of the patriarchy, like giving their daughter his surname and maintaining his career while Jiyoung gives up hers. He is often oblivious to his privilege. When the couple discusses whether to start a family, he tells Jiyoung to think of what she will gain from being a mother rather than what she will lose. She explains that it’s easy for him to say this because his losses are trivial while hers are life-altering.

Jiyoung is annoyed by Daehyun’s repeated offers to “help out” with childcare. His attitude shows that he views their baby as Jiyoung’s responsibility. He is, at most, a good-natured, part-time volunteer. This places unequal child-rearing obligations on Jiyoung. She is consequently forced from her career and isolated at home, where she is exhausted, overburdened, and sad. Daehyun profits from social norms that allow fathers to reap the benefits of parenthood while doing only a fraction of the parenting labor.

Kim Eunsil is Jiyoung’s team leader at the marketing company. As a rare female manager, Eunsil illuminates the challenges faced by women who want to advance in business. Her ascent up the career ladder was predicated on her willingness to attend late-night dinners, a schedule that excludes most women and contributes to a “boy’s club” environment. She instituted changes at the company to make it more inclusive, but women still quit in large numbers and are paid less than their male peers. Cho cites statistics showing that South Korea has the largest gender pay gap among OECD countries and has been rated one of the worst nations for working women. Eunsil illustrates how even successful businesswomen are at a structural disadvantage.

Eunsil is alert to workplace inequalities, but they remain intractable. She discourages Jiyoung from serving her co-workers coffee but can’t protect her from being harassed by male clients. She is proud when the first woman at the company takes a year of maternity leave but is dismayed when the same woman quits due to incompatible work and family schedules.

Eunsil confronts the head of the company during the bathroom spying scandal. She only wants a formal apology, but he refuses. This is the last straw for her. She regards this instance of sexual exploitation of women at the hands of their colleagues as an outrageous example of workplace sexism. But female perspectives have been so marginalized that the boss is inclined to sympathize with the perpetrators and dismiss the victims. Eunsil’s career path shows how inequality and sexism are systemic and accepted as normal even in the face of obvious injustice and cruelty.