Important Quotes from Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 by Cho Nam-joo

Posted On November 8, 2021

Hi Readers! November has been great so far because I have already read 3 books, of which I REALLY LOVED 2 books! Because I am constantly reading on the weekends, I am way behind on writing reviews! I read the most fascinating novel Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 by Cho Nam-joo. This book is so entirely fierce in portraying an important message to the world. The real scenario about gender discrimination in Korea is written with so much brevity.

You can literally feel the anguish that women suffer because they are treated differently than men. Whether they should be born? Whether they should be educated? Whether they should work? Whether they should work after marriage? Whether they should work after becoming a mother? Whether they should be hired? Whether they should be paid as much as their male counterparts?

Reading this made me realize that even though some women have it better than the others, all women have been discriminated in one form or the other. Either by their parents who wanted a baby boy, or by their distant relatives who don’t even know them, or by their potential employers who don’t want to hire them for long-term assignments, or by their own husbands for choosing their career over their baby, or just the society for any number of infinite trifle reasons that are nobody’s business but only the woman’s!

I will always recommend this book to everyone! This book is at a very high level, and you know that I don’t review the books that I feel are absolutely top tier. I did rate this book at 5/5 stars! Instead of a review, below are some of the quotes from the book! I basically highlighted the entire book, so it was difficult to choose from them. But, here they are. Please read them & think about them. And, when you next talk to a woman, think twice if the words coming out of your mouth are sane.

~~GENDER DISCRIMINATION~~

She truly believed he was a decent husband to her for not sleeping around and not hitting her.

“I don’t understand. Half the population in the world goes through this every month. If a pharmaceutical company were to develop an effective pill specifically for menstrual cramps, not the ‘pain medication’ that makes you sick, they would make a fortune.”

“What’s so great about being a schoolteacher?”
“You get off work early. You have school vacations. It’s easy to take time off. There’s nothing like teaching for working moms.”
“Sure. It’s a great job for working parents. Then isn’t it a great job for everyone? Why specifically women? Do women raise children alone? Are you going to suggest teaching to your son, too? You’re going to send him to a teacher training college, too?”

Jiyoung grew up being told to be cautious, to dress conservatively, to be ‘ladylike’. That it’s your job to avoid dangerous places, times of day and people. It’s your fault for not noticing and not avoiding.

~~WOMEN IN THE WORKPLACE~~

“This is why we don’t hire women.” She replied, “Women don’t stay because you make it impossible for us to stay.”

What do you want from us? The dumb girls are too dumb, the smart girls are too smart, and the average girls are too unexceptional.

The job did not pay well or make a big splash in society, nor did it make something one could see or touch, but it had brought her joy. It afforded her a sense of accomplishment when she completed tasks and climbed the ladder, and gave her a sense of reward knowing she was managing her own life with the money she earned.

~~PREGNANCY & CHILDBIRTH~~

“Besides, I don’t know if I’m going to get married, or if I’m going to have children. Or maybe I’ll die before I get to do any of that. Why do I have to deny myself something I want right now to prepare for a future that may or may not come?”

Jiyoung said they weren’t planning on having children yet, but the elders were convinced, regardless of Jiyoung’s input, that she couldn’t get pregnant, and proceeded to investigate. She’s too old. … She’s too skinny. … Her hands are cold. … She must have bad circulation. … The zit on her chin is a sign of an unhealthy uterus. … They concluded the problem was her.

When she announced her pregnancy at work, one of her male colleagues exclaimed, “Lucky you! You get to come to work late!”
Lucky me, I get to retch all the time, am unable to eat or shit properly, and I’m always tired, sleepy, and sore all over, Jiyoung wanted to say but held it in.

I’m healthy, I don’t need medicine. Family planning is between me and my husband, not relatives-in-law I’ve never met in my life.

~~WORKING MOMS & STAY AT HOME MOMS~~

Since she became a full-time housewife, she often noticed that there was a polarised attitude regarding domestic labour. Some demeaned it as ‘bumming around at home’, while others glorified it as ‘work that sustains life’, but none tried to calculate its monetary value. Probably because the moment you put a price on something, someone has to pay.

~~OTHERS~~

Do laws and institutions change values, or do values drive laws and institutions?

Revenue drives a businessman, and you can’t blame someone for wanting maximum output with minimum input. But is it right to prioritize short-term efficiency and balance sheets? Who’ll be the last ones standing in a world with these priorities, and will they be happy?

See this here? This is Seoul. It’s just a dot. A dot. We all of us are living in this tiny, cramped dot. You may not get to see all of it, but I want you to know: it’s a wide world out there.

Even the usually reasonable, sane ones verbally degrade women—even the women they have feelings for.

Until next time,