Searing stories that critique the gender pressures and injustices rife in modern Korea from the author of Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982

Eight women. Eight stories. One reality.

A woman is born. A woman is filmed in public without consent. A woman suffers domestic violence. A woman is gaslit. A woman is discriminated against at work. A woman grows old. A woman becomes famous. A woman is hated, and loved, and then hated again.

Written in Cho Nam-Joo’s masterful, razor-sharp prose, Miss Kim Knows brings together the lives of eight Korean women, aged ten to eighty. Contained in each of these sensational stories is a microcosm of contemporary Korea, and the challenges and injustices that women face from childhood to old age. As with Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982, the fates of these eight women are the fates of women the world over. And under Cho Nam-Joo’s precise, unveiled gaze, nothing and nobody escapes scrutiny—not even herself.

CHO NAM-JOO is a former television scriptwriter who subverted the landscape of feminist discourse in Korea with her international bestseller, Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982, which sold in twenty-five countries and was longlisted for the National Book Award. She graduated from the Department of Sociology of Ewha Womans University and is the author of the dystopian thriller Saha. She lives in South Korea.

Cho Nam-Joo's profile page

JAMIE CHANG is an award-winning translator and teaches at the Ewha Womans University in Seoul, South Korea.

Jamie Chang's profile page

“A precise, cutting portrayal of societal misogyny.” — The Atlantic

“Compelling narratives featuring ordinary people … [Cho Nam-Joo] is sensitive to her characters’ anger and frustrations, contrasting their emotional intensity with the ordinary nature of pedestrian difficulties and discriminations.” — Asymptote Journal

"Despite her characters’ hardships and disappointments, there is mischief and glee to be found in these pages." — The Guardian

“Fueled by a palpable sense of rebellion. Taken together, the chorus of voices produces a stirring feminist anthem.” — Publisher’s Weekly

“These brief stories pack quite a bit into their narratives.” — Library Journal

“This subtle collection is elegant, honest, and empowering." — Kirkus