Previous
Summary
Themes
and Colors
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Gender Inequality
The Diminishment of Women
Individuality and Personal Fulfillment
Female Solidarity
Summary
Analysis
Kim Jiyoung is 33 years old (34 in Korean years). She married her husband, Jung Daehyun, three years ago. The couple lives with their baby daughter, Jung Jiwon, in an apartment on the outskirts of Seoul. Jiyoung used to work in marketing but quit to stay home with the baby. Daehyun works at an IT company and often doesn’t get home until late at night. Jiyoung doesn’t get much help with the baby since Daehyun’s parents live in Busan and her own parents run a restaurant.
The novel opens with details that point to the big changes Jiyoung’s life has undergone in the year since she gave birth to her first child—she has quit her job in marketing to stay home with the baby. This, combined with Daehyun’s late nights and the lack of help Jiyoung receives from her parents or in-laws, points to a suddenly—and perhaps overwhelmingly—isolated existence for Jiyoung. Notably, Daehyun’s life doesn’t appear to have changed nearly as much since Jiwon’s birth. Thus, from the start, the novel lays out the gender inequality at play in Jiyoung’s world.
Active
Themes
Jiyoung started exhibiting odd behavior on September 8. She and Daehyun were eating breakfast when Jiyoung started talking like a much older woman—like her own mother (Oh Misook). Daehyun thought she was just joking, but when he came home from work that night, Jiyoung was sleeping beside Jiwon and sucking her thumb as though she were a baby herself. A few days later, Jiyoung claimed to be Cha Seungyeon, a college friend who died last year in childbirth. Daehyun was shocked when Jiyoung-as-Seungyeon spoke about Seungyeon’s unrequited love for Daehyun (before he and Jiyoung were a couple), which Jiyoung would have no way of knowing. Then she said, “Hah dude,” which Cha Seungyeon used to say when she was drunk.
It seems that the major changes Jiyoung has undergone over the past year, the immense stress she is under to keep up her household and care for her daughter, and the lack of outside help she receives have manifested as some form of mental illness. That Jiyoung’s condition causes her to embody different women in her life links the condition with femininity and symbolically points to being worked to the breaking point as a universal aspect of the female experience. The casual tone with which the narration reveals that Cha Seungyeon died in childbirth normalizes female suffering and diminishes its impact to make a broader point about what little regard Jiyoung’s culture has for that suffering and for women’s labor in general.
Active
Themes
Things came to a head when Jiyoung and Daehyun were in Busan visiting Daehyun’s parents during the Chuseok harvest holidays. The family leaves for Busan in the morning. Daehyun drives, as he always does—the couple used to take turns, but they stopped once Jiwon was born since Jiyoung is so much better at keeping her happy and occupied. Jiyoung, Daehyun, and the baby arrive in Busan and immediately eat lunch with Daehyun’s parents. Afterward, Daehyun takes a nap while Jiyoung and Daehyun’s mother go to the market to shop for Chuseok food. After that, Jiyoung and her mother-in-law started to prepare food for the next day’s meals.
The following day is Chuseok. Daehyun’s younger sister Suhyun arrives with her family. When Jiyoung brings out the rice cakes she and her mother-in-law prepared, Suhyun is upset: she has already told her mother not to prepare food at home. They should order food from a shop since her mother is too old and cooking is a lot of work for Jiyoung. In response, Jiyoung smiles warmly and proceeds to speak in the voice of her mother (Oh Misook). She berates Daehyun’s parents for being inconsiderate and never letting Jiyoung and her young family visit Jiyoung’s parents for holidays. Daehyun’s father reacts angrily to Jiyoung’s show of disrespect. Daehyun, embarrassed, rushes his wife and baby out the door, trying to explain to his family that Jiyoung hasn’t been feeling well lately. Suhyun says that Jiyoung is right, though, and urges her brother to show his wife that he appreciates her.
Get the entire Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 LitChart as a printable PDF.
"My students can't get enough of your charts and their results have gone through the roof." -Graham S.
Later, Daehyun visits a psychiatrist alone to go over Jiyoung’s strange behavior. He schedules some therapy sessions, which Jiyoung agrees to attend. She admits that she’s been feeling a bit sad lately and believes she has “maternity blues.”
Active
Themes
