Kim Jiwon (; November 10, 1943 – January 30, 2013) was a South Korean writer.

Life

Kim Jiwon was raised in a literary family. She was born in 1943 in Gyeonggi Province to

Choe Jeong-hui Choe Jeong-hui (1912–1990) was one of the most successful early women writers in South Korea. Life She was born in Dancheon, South Hamgyong Province and was educated in Seoul. She worked at a kindergarten in Tokyo and as a journalist in Seo ...

, one of the most popular female Korean writers in the twentieth century, and Kim Dong-hwan, a famous poet. Kim's sister,

Kim Chae-won Kim Chae-won (; born August 1, 2000), is a South Korean singer. She is the leader of South Korean girl group Le Sserafim. She is also a former member of the reality competition series ''Produce 48's'' resulting girl group Iz*One in 2018. Ear ...

, is also a writer.Words of Farewell, Bruce Fulton (trans) Seal Press, 1989 p. x Kim Jiwon graduated from

Ehwa University Ewha Womans University () is a private women's university in Seoul founded in 1886 by Mary F. Scranton under Emperor Gojong. It was the first university founded in South Korea. Currently, Ewha is one of the world's largest female educational ins ...

in 1965, emigrated to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

USA The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

in 1973, and published her first story in 1974. She lived in New York from the 1970s until her death.

Work

Kim wrote primarily about women in failed relationships with husbands (''A Certain Beginning'' in 1974 and ''Lullaby'' in 1979). In ''A Certain Beginning'' a woman is hopelessly trapped between social expectations of money and relationships. Set in the United States, the story features the protagonist, Yun-ja, agreeing to marry Chong-il so that he can get a green card. Middled-aged and having been left by her first husband, Yun-ja hopes that the wedding will actually work out, both because it would be a welcome change and because she yearns for a better apartment. While both Yun-ja and Chong-il seem open to this possibility at first, Chong-il comes to see his arrangement as the purchase of an aging prostitute. Women are portrayed as having only their bodies as assets and, although Yun-ja makes a brave statement of independence at the end of the book, it seems an empty statement given her feelings of vulnerability related to her previous marriage, age, and physical condition. Kim's story ''Almaden'' is similar: a Korean woman living in New York is unhappy with her marriage and life. At the liquor store where she and her husband work, a regular client becomes the focus of her dreams of relationship. She becomes increasingly unhappy with her real life but, when her fantasy lover disappears, she is left back in her initial position, hoping that someone else will come to rescue her from her plight.

Works in English

* "A Certain Beginning" and "Lullaby" (in ''Words of Farewell Stories by Korean Women Writers'')" * "Almaden" (in ''The Future of Silence Fiction By Korean Women)''

Works in Korean (Partial)

* "Almaden" (알마덴), 1988

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kim, Jiwon 1943 births South Korean novelists Ewha Womans University alumni 2013 deaths 20th-century novelists International Writing Program alumni