Since I'm in Seoul, thought I would read a book by a Korean writer about Korean women. Borrowed 'What Miss Kim Knows and Other Stories' (August 2023) by Cho Nam-joo, translated into English by Jamie Chang. (Reviews here, here, and here.)
The former television scriptwriter wrote the highly controversial (in South Korea) 'Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982' (2016), which seems like the story of every South Korean young mother dealing with misogyny and unrealistic societal expectations of women and motherhood. It prompted a nation-wide debate about gender inequality, #MeToo and women's rights. There's even a 2019 film adaptation of this book.
'What Miss Kim Knows and Other Stories' hold the stories of eight Korean women aged 10-80. It tells us their stories, trials and tribulations. Eight women; eight stories. I settled in for a rough ride.
The opening story 'Under the Plum Tree' didn't captivate me so much. It's probably because I work with old folks and palliative patients at the hospice, so I didn't get all the feels. Eighty-year-old Dongju, the narrator, regularly visits her eldest sister Geumju who lives at the home for Alzheimer's patients. Dongju reminisced about their childhood, growing up years, their lives, husbands, children and even grandchildren. And wonders at the end, what is the point of life and being in a vegetative state.
'But, Seunghun, I don't think I'd want that if I were her. Your life is meaningless when there's nothing you can do but lie there like that.'
The light at the intersection changed to orange. The car slowed to a stop at the pedestrian crossing.
Seunghun asked, 'What is a meaningful life?'
.....................
And what about me? I'm not doing anything productive, just taking step after step towards death each day. Does my life have meaning?
In the eponymous story, Miss Kim is this mysterious office manager was fired from her role at a hospital advertisement agency. Everybody hired is a relative or friend of someone else in there. Miss Kim does all the little things in the office including sorting out the copier, and updating address books. She was somehow fired and a new intern replaced her. Things go a little odd when they kinda miss this cog in the wheel. She handled all the little things till nobody knew what to do. They even suspected she returned to the office to mess up things out of spite.
Miss Kim's influence at the agency had grown much too big. She didn't have any of the managerial titles, she had long experience at the company but the lowest rank and pay, and she oversaw all the goings-on in the office and handled the actual managing. Promoting her or giving her a raise was out of the question. Because Miss Kim was 'Miss Kim'.
So she got sacked on a sunny day.
In 'Dead Set', there's a feminist author who reconnected with her high school teacher and then got blamed for using the teacher's childhood stories in her stories, which wasn't exactly true because every woman seems to have an abusive male figure in her life.
There's a long suffering mother and wife who doesn't seem too unhappy that her husband left home in 'Runaway'. The husband/father wants a new life for himself. The narrator is the youngest daughter, and most favored in the family it seems. She never told anyone about the credit card she has given her father, and that the transactions come through to her via text alerts on her phone. Her father puts small amounts on it now and then, as if to tell her he's doing okay. But she has never been able to track him down. The father never returned either.
I think of Father hiking up Jirisan Mountain, walking along the beaches of Jeju Island, and down streets filled with young people with a takeaway coffee in his hand. I am sorry to say that the rest of the family is doing just fine without Father. It seems Father is also doing just fine without his family. If he returns someday, I think we'll be able to go on as if nothing happened.
In 'Dear Hyunnam Oppa', the woman ditched her long-time boyfriend the moment he proposed to her because she finally realized he has been gaslighting her from day one. She doesn't want to be controlled by him, have him choose who she could be friends with, and live out his narrative for them her whole life.
In 'Grown-up Girl', a young girl decided to get back at a group of male bullies in school. Her mother remembers her own childhood, what her mother did for a living helping abused wives and girlfriends, and finally decided to help the daughter keep the secret, and protected her rights in the school investigation.
'Night of Aurora' is super out there. It describes the relationship between three generations of women. An adult daughter and her mother, and her deceased father's mother. Her paternal grandmother, and her mother's mother-in-law daughter-in-law. There's a whole discussion about women and their careers, societal expectations of women and motherhood. I get this story and how the author wants to link the Northern Lights to their emotions and story. Yet at the same time, I don't get it because it's tiresome. Stand up for yourself already!
The last story in the book just killed me. 'Puppy Love' is simply hilarious. Good gawwd. What can I say? Privilege and self-entitlement do go hand-in-hand. Narcissism and misogyny sure start young huh. I don't actually have a favorite story. I don't mind them, and I like none of them. LOL Many stories use a 'Miss Kim'. She can be a teacher, a colleague or a passer-by. But not every 'Miss Kim' is that 'Miss Kim'. LOL
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