The following version of this book was used to create this study guide: Nam-Joo, Cho. Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982. Minumsa Publishing Company, 2016. Kindle.

The novel is divided into six sections. Although it is not revealed until the final section, the whole novel is narrated by Jiyoung’s therapist. The narrator beings the first section, “Autumn, 2015,” in the present tense by informing us that Jiyoung is 33 and living in Seoul with her husband, Daehyun, and baby daughter, Jiwon. While Daehyun works long nights and weekends at his IT job, Jiyoung stays home all day and takes care of their daughter, who attends a daycare for a few hours in the morning. The narrator transitions into the past tense as, one day in September, Daehyun woke up and had breakfast. He noticed that Jiyoung was impersonating her mother, but he assumed she was joking. A few days later, she started impersonating their mutual friend. Again, Daehyun thought she was kidding around until she started to reveal information that only Daehyun was privy to. The strange occurrences continued until the Chuseok harvest holiday. The couple went to Daehyun’s family’s house to celebrate. Jiyoung embarrassed him by impersonating her mother and scolding him and his family for making Jiyoung work too much and not giving her time to go see her own family. When they got home, Jiyoung booked a therapy session for Jiyoung. Although she did not remember any of the incidents, she thanked him and admitted that she had been feeling blue.

In “Childhood, 1982-1994,” Jiyoung always loved stealing formula from her baby brother, but her grandmother scolded her because she did not want anyone taking away anything from her precious grandson. Jiyoung’s mother had wanted to be a teacher, but she got married and became a mother instead, working odd-jobs on the side. She had two daughters before aborting a third. Five years after Jiyoung was born, her mother finally had a son, who became the most important member of the family. When Jiyoung started elementary school, she was bullied by a boy who terrorized her. Her teacher comforted her, but then explained that the boy only liked her and was expressing his feelings by being mean. All through school, the boys were given preference—eating first, lining up first, and even having their homework graded first.

In “Adolescence, 1995-2000,” Jiyoung started middle-school. Because the birth rate in Korea favored boys, most of the all-girl schools had been converted to co-ed. The girls had strict dress-codes, but the boys got to wear whatever they wanted. In high school, the male teachers physically assaulted the female students on a regular basis. Jiyoung was accosted by a classmate who followed her home on the bus and accused her of flirting with him in class. Her father scolded her for wearing a short skirt and taking the bus so late. Jiyoung applied to a humanities college in Seoul and got in.

In “Early Adulthood, 2001-2011,” Jiyoung started college. While many of her classmates struggled without support from their parents to pay tuition and bills by working several jobs, Jiyoung lived with her family and only worked four hours a week. Jiyoung joined the hiking club and started dating a boy. When he left for the army, they started fighting. She broke up with him, but he continued to harass her every time he came on leave. During her junior year, Jiyoung decided she wanted to get a career in marketing, but when looked into the industry she learned that only male students were recommended to companies by the professors. Jiyoung started dating a new boy who encouraged her during her job search. She applied to hundreds of places and got only a few interviews that went horribly. One day, she finally got an offer at a small marketing firm and took it immediately. Her female boss praised her, but her male clients sexually harassed her and forced her to drink with them. Her boyfriend broke up with her over one of these nights. She applied to be on a special new team, but two male colleagues who had started at the same time as her were hired instead.

In “Marriage, 2012-2015,” Jiyoung married Daehyun and they lived happily together. When they went to Daehyun’s father’s birthday party, his whole family attacked Jiyoung and wondered why she was not pregnant yet. Daehyun suggested they start a family to stop his family’s pestering. Jiyoung got pregnant and they decided she had to quit her job to stay home with the baby. Jiyoung grew depressed being at home all day alone with the baby. She started thinking about getting a part-time job, but she could not find one that she was passionate about. At the end of the section, the narrator says Jiyoung became different women, not as a prank or a joke.

In “2016,” the narrator reveals that he is Jiyoung’s therapist. Jiyoung comes to his office twice a week and has told him the story of her life. When Daehyun first told the therapist about Jiyoung’s symptoms, he thought she was suffering from dissociative disorder, but when he met her he changed his mind and decided she was just experiencing postnatal depression and childcare depression. The therapist worries that he made a mistake, though. He brags about his understanding of Jiyoung’s situation. He says he only understands because he watched his own wife, a brilliant mathematician and therapist, go through similar struggles when she was forced to stay home with their son. In the end, one of the counselors comes in and says goodbye because she is pregnant and quitting. The therapist is disappointed to be losing her, but figures it is for the best since she would only cause the clinic inconveniences. He decides to make sure management hires an unmarried woman to avoid the same situation in the future.