A short life of the author
Cho Nam-joo (b. 1978) was born in Seoul, South Korea. She studied sociology at Ewha Womans University and worked as a television scriptwriter before turning to fiction.
Life and Career
Kim Ji-young, Born 1982 (82년생 김지영, 2016) — about an ordinary Korean woman named Kim Ji-young (the most common name for women born in 1982) who begins speaking in the voices of other women — became a publishing phenomenon in South Korea. The novel sold over two million copies, was read by the president, and provoked fierce public debate about gender discrimination.
The novel’s power lies in its ordinariness: it catalogs the everyday sexism that Korean women experience from childhood through education, employment, marriage, and motherhood. It is written in a deliberately flat, documentary style that makes the cumulative weight of discrimination impossible to dismiss.
A 2019 film adaptation was a major commercial success in South Korea. The novel has been translated into over twenty languages.
Major Works and Themes
Cho writes about gender inequality in South Korea — the structural, institutional, and cultural barriers that constrain women’s lives. Her work triggered a wave of feminist publishing and activism in South Korea.
Key Works
- Kim Ji-young, Born 1982 (2016)
Collecting Cho Nam-joo
Korean originals (Minumsa) bring $10–$20. The English translation (Scribner, 2020) brings $10–$20.