Sunday, September 10, 2017

"never been thought of as problematic until recently"

A new "documentary"-style novel has made some waves in South Korea about the subtle, small indignities that happen daily to women in the country:
"Kim Ji Young Born 1982, written by Cho Nam-joo and published by Minumsa, was released in October 2016 and has sold over 270,000 copies as of Aug. 30. It wasn’t an instant sensation at first, but started gaining attention in early 2017 when readers posted reviews of the book on social media. On May 19, after Roh Hoe-chan, the floor leader of the Justice Party, gave the book as a gift to President Moon Jae-in with a message that read, 'Please embrace Kim Ji Young Born 82,' the book’s sales shot up. 
Even though the book lacks spectacular twists in the plot or extreme adventures fought by the protagonist, it has touched the hearts of readers of diverse backgrounds across Korea for its subtleness. Rather than depicting extreme situations for the sake of the plot, the book calmly describes common experiences that happen in the everyday lives of Korean women - things that have always been there, but have never been thought of as problematic until recently."
It doesn't sound like a book that will get a translation into English but you never know.

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