Novelist Han Kang Wins the 2024 Nobel Prize in Literature

 

On October 10, the Swedish Academy announced that Han Kang had been selected as the recipient of the 2024 Nobel Prize in Literature. She is the second Korean to receive a Nobel Prize, following the late President Kim Dae-jung, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2000.

 

The Nobel Committee of the Swedish Academy cited Han Kang's "intense poetic prose that confronts historical traumas and exposes the fragility of human life" as the reason for her selection.

 

The award includes a prize of 11 million SEK (1 million USD, 1.34 billion KRW), a medal, and a diploma.

 

 

 

 

33 Keys to Decoding the Korean Wave #20 The Power of Female Writers 

#20 K-Book and Korean Women's Human Rights

 

*한류를 이해하는 33가지 코드 #20 도서한류(K-Book)와 한국여성 인권 <Korean version> 

https://www.nyculturebeat.com/index.php?mid=Focus&document_srl=4082305

 

 

Cho Nam-joo’s bestseller, “Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982,” has been translated and published in thirty-one countries around the world. Korean version (clockwise from top left), Japanese version, Taiwanese version, Vietnamese version, Indonesian version, Thai version, Chinese version, Spanish version. Photo: Minumsa

 

 

“I thought of Kim Jiyoung’s character as a vessel that contains experiences and emotions that are common to every Korean woman.” 

-Cho Nam-Joo, author of “Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982” -

 

Cho Nam-Joo’s novel "Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982," published in 2016, has sold over 1.5 million copies in Korea alone. The English edition was released in the UK in February 2020 and in the US in April 2020, becoming a bestseller in Japan, China, and Taiwan. The book has been published in 31 countries and 29 languages, including German, French, Spanish, Russian, Hungarian, and Vietnamese, heralding a new wave of Korean literature, or K-Book. The English version was named one of The New York Times' 100 Notable Books of 2020. Between 2016 and 2020, the novel sold over 300,000 copies in 10 languages, setting a record for any Korean literary work.

 

Does "Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982" resonate because it reflects the lives of ordinary Korean women and addresses the global issue of gender discrimination? Or is it the specific portrayal of gender inequality in Korea that has captured international attention? Despite being an economically, culturally, and technologically advanced country, Korea ranks surprisingly low in women’s rights globally.

 

“Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982”: A Global Phenomenon

 

French version (from left), American version, and British version of “Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982.”

 

Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982, a feminist novel that exposes the pervasive gender discrimination in Korean society through the life of 33-year-old housewife Kim Jiyoung, was adapted into a film directed by Kim Do-young in 2019. The movie, made by a team of women, including the screenwriter (Yoo Young-ah), director, and producers (Park Ji-young and Kwak Hee-jin), attracted over 3.6 million viewers.

 

The name “Kim Jiyoung” was one of the most common names given to girls born in Korea in the 1980s. The novel chronicles how, since birth, Kim Jiyoung faced gender discrimination: her parents’ decision to abort a younger sister reflects the preference for sons; in the family, there is a strict order of feeding (father-son-grandmother), and at school, boys’ meals take priority, while girls are subject to stricter dress codes. As an adult, Jiyoung experiences gender discrimination in the workplace, sexual harassment at company dinners, and ultimately, her career is cut short due to childbirth. She is disparaged as a "mum-choong" (mum-roach), a derogatory term for mothers perceived as overbearing, and eventually seeks psychiatric help.

 

The novel received an enthusiastic response overseas. The New York Times’ Alexandra Alter wrote, “Like Bong Joon Ho’s Academy Award-winning film Parasite, which sparked a debate about class disparities in South Korea, Cho’s novel was treated as a social treatise as much as a work of art... The new, often subversive novels by Korean women, which have intersected with the rise of the #MeToo movement, are driving discussions beyond the literary world.” The strength of Cho’s novel lies in its concise depiction of the relentless accumulation of sexism and gender discrimination throughout one woman’s life. With clinical detachment, the book narrates Jiyoung’s journey from childhood through adolescence, early adulthood, her first job, marriage, and motherhood. Britain’s Metro commented, “The linearity of the account feels claustrophobic, with the case-study style objectifying Jiyoung and stripping her of her interiority. Cho’s formal excision of any sense of imaginative possibility is highly effective in creating an airless, unbearably dull world in which Jiyoung’s madness makes complete sense.”

 

The global success of "Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982" not only highlights the universality of the struggles faced by women but also sheds light on the specific challenges that persist in Korean society, igniting important conversations about gender equality and women’s rights around the world.

Patient and Narrator: Kim Jiyoung and the psychiatrist

 

Filmmaker Kim Do-young’s “Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982” (2019) Photo: Lotte Entertainment / Poster for the play of the same title (2022) directed by An Kyung-mo.

 

In the novel, Kim Jiyoung expresses her anguish to her psychiatrist: “I gave birth while feeling close to death. I gave up my life, my work, my dreams, and myself to raise the child. And then I turned into an insect. What should I do now?” Kim Jiyoung, a 21st-century Korean woman, unravels mentally, much like the tragic heroines in 19th-century Italian operas such as "Lucia di Lammermoor" and "La Sonnambula." In Donizetti’s opera, Lucia descends into madness after being forced into a marriage of social convenience by her brother. In Bellini’s work, Amina, the adopted daughter of a miller, is accused of infidelity while sleepwalking after her engagement to the landowner Elvino.

 

Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 also draws parallels to Jeanne, the protagonist of the 1883 French novel "Une Vie (A Woman’s Life)" by Guy de Maupassant. Jeanne, a baron’s daughter, is sheltered in a monastery until she is seventeen, emerging with dreams of a beautiful life. She marries Viscount Julien, only to endure a life filled with betrayal and heartbreak—her husband impregnates their maid, has an affair with a countess, and eventually meets a violent death. Jeanne, clinging to her son Paul as her last hope, watches helplessly as he succumbs to gambling and a dissolute lifestyle. Exhausted and disillusioned, Jeanne finds solace in holding her granddaughter and reflects, “Life, you see, is never as good nor as bad as we think.”

 

In "Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982," the “narrator” is a male psychiatrist, while Kim Jiyoung is the “patient.” The novel reconstructs Jiyoung’s life through a clinical lens, drawing on the psychiatrist’s records of her symptoms. He diagnoses her with postpartum depression and parenting-related depression. However, the novel’s conclusion reveals the psychiatrist’s own ingrained sexism when he confesses that his ophthalmologist wife has become a full-time housewife and that he is seeking a single replacement for his counselor, who is retiring after childbirth. This subtle yet powerful moment exposes the pervasive gender discrimination within even the most educated circles.

 

While Maupassant’s Une Vie is a "HisStory" of Jeanne's life, told from a male perspective, "Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982" was anticipated to be a “HerStory,” narrated by Cho Nam-Joo. However, the choice of a male narrator shifts the narrative focus, ultimately reducing Kim Jiyoung’s story to yet another "HisStory." This narrative choice makes the ending of the novel even more despairing than Jeanne’s, highlighting the systemic nature of gender inequality and the struggle for women’s voices to be authentically heard.

 

#KOREA: Economically Advanced, Yet Lagging in Women’s Rights

 

OECD Data: Gender wage gap Employees, Percentage, 2021 

 

Cho Nam-joo, author of "Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982," once remarked, “Full-time housewives are the most undervalued workers, with no wages, no rest, no vacation, and no promotion.” In 2021, South Korea ranked 10th globally in terms of gross domestic product (GDP), reaching 2,071.7 trillion won ($1,798.53 billion). The country’s per capita gross national income (GNI) ranked 27th, at 40.247 million won ($35,168), highlighting its status as an economically advanced nation.

 

However, when it comes to gender equality, South Korea lags significantly behind. The country faces one of the worst levels of wage discrimination between men and women in the world. According to a 2021 survey by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the wage gap between male and female workers in Korea was 31.1%. Women earned only 68.9% of what men made, the lowest rate among the 30 OECD member countries. For comparison, Japan’s gap was 22.1%, the United States 16.9%, and the smallest gap was in Bulgaria, at just 2.6%. 

https://data.oecd.org/earnwage/gender-wage-gap.htm 

 

 

Global Gender Gap Report 2020, World Economic Forum (WEF) 

 

According to the “Global Gender Gap Report 2020” by the World Economic Forum (WEF), South Korea ranked 108th out of 153 countries. This represents a drop of 16 places over 13 years, down from 92nd in the first survey in 2006. The top 10 countries in 2020 were Iceland (1st), Norway (2nd), Finland (3rd), Sweden (4th), Nicaragua (5th), New Zealand (6th), Ireland (7th), Spain (8th), Rwanda (9th), and Germany (10th). Other notable rankings include France (15th), the United Kingdom (21st), the United States (53rd), China (106th), and Japan (121st).

 

The report evaluates countries based on four criteria: economic participation and opportunity, educational attainment, health and survival, and political empowerment. South Korea ranked as follows:

 

#Economic Participation and Opportunity: 127th

-Labor force participation rate: 92nd

-Wage equality for similar work: 119th

-Estimated earned income: 121st

-Representation among legislators, senior officials, and managers: 142nd

-Professional and technical workers: 88th

 

#Educational Attainment: 101st

-Literacy rate: 1st

-Primary education enrollment: 84th

-Secondary education enrollment: 107th

-Tertiary education enrollment: 120th

 

#Health and Survival: 1st

-Sex ratio at birth: 1st

-Healthy life expectancy: 1st  

 

#Political Empowerment: 79th

-Proportion of women in parliament: 108th

-Women in ministerial positions: 73rd

-Years with a female or male head of state: 29th

http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_GGGR_2020.pdf

 

President Moon Jae-in appointed Kang Kyung-wha, Special Adviser to the UN Secretary-General for Policy, as Minister of Foreign Affairs in June 2017. Photo: Blue House

Political Participation of Women

 

Despite global recognition of Korean female leaders like Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha and Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency Commissioner Jeong Eun-kyeong during the COVID-19 crisis, the political participation rate of women in Korea remains one of the lowest in the world.

 

The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) has been tracking the percentage of women in national parliaments since 1997. As of March 2020, South Korea ranked 125th out of 193 countries, with only 51 female lawmakers out of 295 members, or 17.29%. This is a decline from 119th in 2017, 116th in 2018, and 118th in 2019. Ironically, North Korea (the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea) has a slightly higher ranking at 120th, with 121 female lawmakers out of 687 members of the Supreme People's Assembly (17.61%).

 

The top countries in this ranking include Rwanda (61.25%), Cuba (53.22%), Bolivia (53.08%), the United Arab Emirates (50%), and Mexico (48.2%). European nations such as Sweden (6th, 46.99%), Finland (11th, 46%), Spain (13th, 44%), and Switzerland (16th, 41.5%) are followed by France (26th, 39.51%), Austria (28th, 39.34%), Italy (35th, 35.71%), the United Kingdom (40th, 33.85%), Germany (49th, 31.17%), China (75th, 24.94%), and the United States (81st, 23.49%).

https://data.ipu.org/women-ranking?month=3&year=2020

 

 

Despite its economic achievements, South Korea still struggles with significant gender inequality. The nation’s poor rankings in wage equality, labor force participation, and political representation reveal a pressing need for systemic change to ensure that Korean women can fully realize their potential and rights. The global attention brought by works like Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 highlights these issues, sparking important conversations about gender equality in Korea and beyond.

*강경화 유엔 인도주의업무조정국(OCHA) 사무차장보와의 대담(2013, 12 @코리아 소사이어티)

 

 

Korean Ministry of Gender Equality and Family

 

 

Women’s human rights in Korea are at the level of an underdeveloped country, but after the Ministry of Women and Family was established by the Korean government in 2001, it was expanded, reorganized, and renamed as the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family in 2005. It is noteworthy that the English name has changed from “Women” to “Gender Equality.”

 

Although the United States still does not have one, France established the world’s first Ministry of Women’s Rights in 1975. Germany established a Ministry of Family Affairs in 1953 and has been operating as the Federal Ministry of Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth since 1994. In addition, New Zealand, India, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Nepal, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Ghana, Peru, and Nicaragua have established government departments for women’s rights. Meanwhile, in the UK, the Gender Equality Office is operated under the Ministry of Culture, Media and Sports.

 

The Declaration on Gender Equality was announced at the 4th World Conference on Women: Action for Equality, Development, and Peace held in Beijing in September 1995 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations. The Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action identified 12 subjects for women’s empowerment, human rights and gender equality, including: Women and poverty, Women’s education and training, Women and health, violence against Women, Women and armed conflict, Women and the economy, Women in power and decision-making, institutional mechanisms for advancement of Women, Human rights of Women, Women and the media, Women and the environment, and the girl child..

 

Hillary Clinton, then the first lady of the United States, gave a speech saying, “Women's rights are human rights.” The United Nations adopted the Beijing Declaration and Global Platform for Action on Women and recommended that each country establish a national organization dedicated to women’s policies, and 187 countries around the world now operate organizations and ministries dedicated to women’s policies. 

 

In Korea, after the Kim Dae-jung government commenced in 1998, a special committee on women was established under the direct control of the president. In 1999, a bill prohibiting gender discrimination was enacted, and in 2000, it was promoted to the Ministry of Gender Equality, a central administrative agency. In 2010, the Lee Myung-bak administration transferred youth and family affairs from the Ministry of Health and Welfare and renamed it the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family.

 

The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family has been implementing policies in the areas of women’s employment, law, safety, housing and transportation. These policies include Women’s Quota System, Women’s Additional Points, Women’s New Work Center (Employment), Basic Act on Prevention of Violence Against Women, Career Interrupted Women Act, Act on Nurturing and Supporting Women Scientists and Engineers, Act on Support for Women’s Enterprises, Act on Fostering Female Farmers and Fishermen, Gender Impact Analysis and Assessment Act, Basic Act on Gender Equality (Law), Women’s Safe Homecoming Service, Women’s Safe Home Delivery (Safety), Women’s Apartment/Working Women’s Rental Apartment (Residence), Women-Only Cars, Pregnant Women Care Seats, Women-Only Parking Lot (Residence), etc. However, Korea’s Ministry of Gender Equality and Family has been embroiled in controversy over its existence.

 

 

The United Nations designated March 8 as International Women’s Day in 1975. The date commemorates a pivotal event on March 8, 1917, when Russian female workers took to the streets of Petrograd, demanding the overthrow of the tsarist regime. This protest ignited the “February Revolution,” which ultimately led to the abdication of Emperor Nicholas II. The actions of these women workers laid the groundwork for advancing women’s rights during the subsequent October Revolution.

 

In Korea, during the Japanese colonial period in 1920, both liberal and socialist factions began commemorating Women’s Day. Prominent figures like Na Hye-seok, Kim Il-yeop, Kim Myeong-sun, Park In-deok, and Kim Hwal-ran (Helen Kim) from the liberal faction, as well as Heo Jeong-suk and Jeong Chil-seong from the socialist faction, organized events to mark the day. After Korea’s liberation in 1945, March 8 continued to be celebrated as a socialist event under the regimes of Syngman Rhee, Park Chung-hee, and Chun Doo-hwan. Since 1985, March 8 has been established as a political and cultural event in which various women’s groups participate.

 

The United Nations General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) in 1979, and established the Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women in 1981. During the 8th CEDAW Committee meeting held in 2018 at the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva, the Committee highlighted several areas of concern regarding women’s rights in South Korea, including discrimination, labor issues, violence, and abortion. The Committee presented 53 recommendations to the Korean government, including:

 

-Enacting a comprehensive anti-discrimination law.

-Implementing effective resolutions and punishments for domestic violence crimes.

-Strengthening measures to prevent online sexual violence.

-Increasing women’s representation in high-ranking positions.

-Revising Article 297 of Korea’s Criminal Act to criminalize spousal rape.

-Managing workplace sexual harassment and preventing sexual violence offenders from holding positions in public institutions.

-Enacting a comprehensive human trafficking prevention law.

-Abolishing gender-segregated recruitment of female police officers.

-Introducing a wage disclosure system in construction companies.

-Strengthening the proportional representation system.

-Providing compensation for comfort women victims.

 

In response to the ongoing challenges, Korea enacted the Framework Act on Women’s Development in 1995, which was revised to the Framework Act on Gender Equality in 2014. The term “gender equality” is defined as the equal guarantee of human rights and equal participation and treatment in all areas without discrimination, prejudice, degradation, or violence based on gender (Article 3). The act further emphasizes that all citizens have equal rights in all areas, including family and society, and that everyone has the right to be treated equally and to lead a gender-equal life (Article 4).

 

International Women’s Day serves as a reminder of the ongoing struggle for gender equality and the need for continued progress in protecting and advancing women’s rights, both in Korea and around the world.

 

#Korean proverbs that degrade women

Elizabeth Keith (1887-1956), Country Wedding Feast, Korea, 1921

 

Why are women’s human rights lagging so far behind in Korea, despite its status as an economically, culturally, and technologically advanced country? Could it be influenced by Confucian culture?

 

The late Representative Roh Hoe-chan addressed this issue at the “Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982” Book Talk in 2017, stating that many men are reading books like “Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982” to challenge the systems, cultures, and customs in Korea that perpetuate male superiority and to combat the discrimination that arises from these practices. He emphasized the importance of exposing oneself to these issues. Rep. Roh Hoe-chan was known to have written a letter to President Moon Jae-in, urging him to embrace “Kim Ji-young, Born 1982.”

 

It’s important to note that advocating for gender equality is not about promoting female supremacy; it’s about upholding human rights. Mothers, wives, daughters, and granddaughters should no longer face devaluation simply because of their gender. So, why does a significant portion of Korean society still hold onto pre-modern ways of thinking? Could it be due to the deep-rooted influence of proverbs and cultural norms that degrade women?

Some examples of Korean proverbs that degrade women and reinforce gender discrimination are:

 

-A woman and dried pollack need to be beaten every three days.

-When a hen crows like rooster, the home collapses.

-If a woman is smart, she is deemed ill-fated.

-If the first customer is a woman, it’s considered an unlucky day.

-Bowls and women will crack if thrown out.

-A woman’s married life: Deaf for three years, mute for three years.

-Even if I want to do an exorcism, I don’t like seeing my daughter-in-law dance.

-If you can’t manage your married life with your husband’s in-laws, even the neighborhood dogs will look down on you.

-The shame of the house is attributed to the daughter-in-law.

-There are no murders without a woman involved.

-Butterflies gather where flowers are pretty.

-One daughter is one too many, and three sons are not enough.

-If three women gather, the lid of the pot will not be spared.

-When a girl gets old, she is likened to a fox.

...Many more

 

These proverbs reflect the gender discrimination and prejudice deeply rooted in Korean culture. They perpetuate stereotypes and negative attitudes about women and imply that their behavior or presence can bring misfortune or trouble. It is important to recognize and challenge such harmful beliefs and work to create a more equitable and inclusive society. 

Gender equality and human rights are fundamental principles that should be upheld for the well-being and progress of any society.