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| Jung Yu-mi. Courtesy of Management Soop |
By Dong Sun-hwa
Jung Yu-mi will star in a film based on the Korean feminist novel, "Kim Ji Young, Born 1982," which has sold more than 1 million copies.
"Kim Ji Young, Born 1982" is about a woman in her 30s who experiences discrimination because of her gender.
A myriad of women praised the book for being realistic and straightforward ― Kim, the protagonist, does not fight strongly against sexism but instead, stays calm most of the time. She is considered "typical," because woman in her era did not protest loudly about this situation.
The book, by Cho Nam-joo, has been a long-time best seller after its release in 2016.
However, not everyone is welcoming the film, with a nationwide petition being launched to stop it.
"I believe the novel is excessively subjective and has distorted perspectives toward the society," wrote a male petitioner, 19. "Making this novel into film goes against the value of gender equality and promotes conflict between genders."
As of Thursday, the petition had about 160 supporters.
Jung Yu-mi debuted in "How to Operate a Polaroid Camera" in 2004, and has starred in diverse works, including the KBS drama "Discovery of Love" in 2014.
