Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982: A Novel

From Jiyoung’s earliest school experiences, sexual harassment is an expression of gender discrimination. Harassment takes many forms in the novel, but it usually has two properties: It is covered by euphemism and blamed on the victim. In elementary school, harassment is a “prank”; in middle school, it’s “checking school uniforms”; in the workplace, it’s a “joke”. Such euphemisms give perpetrators a sense of innocence and make victims seem unreasonable for objecting. When they do object, they are likely to be blamed for encouraging the harassment. Between euphemism and victim-blaming, women are cornered into accepting harassment as a fact of life, but it takes a massive cumulative toll.

In a running motif, Jiyoung thinks of how she wishes she could respond to harassment in real time. But she is pressured into holding her tongue. Many of the men who harass her are in positions of power: interviewers, clients, and heads of companies. Objecting to their behavior could hurt her career. But not objecting has devastating emotional consequences. In one scene, she screams at a mirror in frustration over her treatment by a male interviewer, voicing the pent-up rage that festers in her as a harassment victim. The recipient of her rage is her reflection—herself. Inward-directed anger perpetuates a victim-blaming culture that leaves women to suffer indignities in silence.

Because women are singled out for harassment, it is a form of gender discrimination and has profound social and economic consequences. As Cho Nam-Joo demonstrates with labor statistics, women in the workforce are underrepresented, underpaid, and excluded from management. Jiyoung’s story shows how sexual harassment contributes to an unwelcoming “boy’s club” environment that enforces male dominance. Harassment is both an expression of a discriminatory work culture and a tool for its maintenance.

The egregious bathroom spying episode is a shocking (and, disturbingly, fact-based) example of how sexual mistreatment drives women out of the workforce. The bathroom videos are originally discovered by male co-workers who distribute them among themselves. When the camera is finally discovered, the head of the company doesn’t see a need to apologize. The victims are traumatized; several quit their jobs. Kim Eunsil, the only female manager at the corporation, resigns in disgust. The women suffer not only from the humiliating invasion of privacy but also from the disturbing knowledge that their colleagues—men they work with every day—are willing to sexually exploit them. Male sexual predation creates an unsafe working environment for women, which reduces female labor participation and further consolidates male power.