Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982

It's not easy, being able to relate to someone. As a man, to a woman, as a French european man, to a Korean woman. Yet, for this exact reason, after finishing this book, it just feels like a duty, to try and watch from the perspective of someone else. You can never experience what a woman feels, nor you could ever be in her feet. But as we share the same world, as we, by our actions and awareness can make it either easier or more painful to live together, It becomes a duty to try, and see the World as it is, acknowledge it. And I'm grateful, for this book and author, gives us the ability to feel such an authentic journey : frightening, cold, warm. Human. So again, Thank you for sharing. I'm Sorry we couldn't do more. Let's get through Life all together.

I love how the author addressed a social issue in South Korea in the way that she did. More dialogue would have made this book even better but that still did not take away from the story. In fact, the lack of dialogue is what makes this book unique in my opinion. From a socio-ecological perspective, I definitely appreciated the citations because it helped put the main character's experiences in context.

Sorprende, pero no es algo totalmente nuevo. Un país que se centra y evoluciona rápido en la economía pero la sociedad, moral y valores quedan atrás, en siglos pasados.

A pesar de ser una historia de Corea y que tiene un contexto muy tradicional del país (por el año y los eventos que pasaron en la época, algo que me agrada ya que te lo plasman y aprendes un poco de la cultura) lo que hace tan poderosa esta historia es que no importa de donde seas, que edad tengas o que idioma hables. Este libro tiene mínimo una escena de algo que todas podemos entender o incluso haber vivido. Es una historia muy bonita, seguimos a Kim Jiyoung a través de su vida, y un corazón que late por todas.

This book found me. It reads more like a fact-born, biography couched in a fictional easy chair. Very interesting in that respect. As a woman raised in the US, it gave me significant pause. We moan about our plight but let's consider women in other lands. I've traveled to South Korea several times but as a visitor it is very difficult to truly grasp truth in culture. This book allows for that and its' honesty is both compelling and admirable. It is difficult for a woman to read this book and not consider that humanity is indeed still struggling with significant reform when it comes to gender roles, marriage, workplace equality, and child rearing. How did our species get so lost and confused about such basic aspects of existence? Great book for the instigation of serious thought and potential to spur others towards profound change for the benefit of all.