I Will Be You
young-adult-novel · First published 2024
Author guide
Cho Nam-joo Books in Order
Cho Nam-joo was born in Seoul in 1978 and studied sociology at Ewha Womans University. She worked for about a decade as a writer for Korean current-affairs and culture television programs before becoming a novelist. She debuted with When You Listen, which won the 2011 Munhakdongne Novel Award. Her fiction, including Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982, Her Name Is, and Saha Mansion, combines documentary-like observation with social criticism and has been widely translated.
literary fictionfeminist fictiondystopian fictionyoung adult fictionshort stories
Catalog record updated .
Cho Nam-joo's Newest Book
Not sure where to begin?
Start with one of these
Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982
Her best-known novel and a direct introduction to Cho Nam-joo's feminist social fiction.
Her Name Is
A strong entry point to her short fiction and recurring attention to women's lives across generations.
Outside the series
Bibliography by category
Novels (7)
- When You Listen
novel · 2011
- For Gomanechi
novel · 2016
- Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982
novel · 2016
In a small, tidy apartment on the outskirts of the frenzied metropolis of Seoul lives Kim Jiyoung. A thirtysomething-year-old “millennial everywoman,” she has recently left her white-collar desk job―in order to care for her newborn…
- Saha Mansion
novel · 2019
- The Taste of Tangerines
young-adult-novel · 2020
- The Story of Seoyoung-dong
linked-story-novel · 2022
- I Will Be You
young-adult-novel · 2024
Short fiction (2)
- Her Name Is
short-story-collection · 2018
- What We Wrote
short-story-collection · 2021
Frequently asked questions about Cho Nam-joo
Who is Cho Nam-Joo?
Cho Nam-Joo is a South Korean novelist born in Seoul in 1978. She is internationally best known for socially engaged fiction about gender inequality and marginalized lives, especially Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982.
Sources: library.ltikorea.or.kr (opens in a new tab)nationalbook.org (opens in a new tab)
Where did Cho Nam-Joo study?
She studied sociology at Ewha Womans University in Seoul.
What did Cho Nam-Joo do before becoming a novelist?
She worked for about a decade as a scriptwriter for Korean current-affairs and culture television programs. After taking a career break following marriage and childbirth, she began writing novels at home.
Sources: k-book.or.kr (opens in a new tab)theguardian.com (opens in a new tab)
What influences Cho Nam-Joo’s writing?
Her sociology training and television work inform a documentary-like style focused on real social problems. Her fiction also draws on experiences of marriage, childbirth, housework, and the discrimination faced by women and other marginalized groups.
Sources: klwave.or.kr (opens in a new tab)k-book.or.kr (opens in a new tab)
What awards has Cho Nam-Joo won, and what is her literary legacy?
She won the Munhakdongne Novel Award in 2011, the Hwangsanbeol Youth Literary Award in 2016, and the Today's Author Award in 2017. Her work has achieved major international reach: Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 sold more than a million copies in nineteen countries, and its English translation was longlisted for the 2020 National Book Awards.
Sources: k-book.or.kr (opens in a new tab)nationalbook.org (opens in a new tab)