Kathmandu, June 25 -- young: Born 1982' is not just a story about a woman. It is the story of many women, and it is also, at times, the story of all of us. The 2019 South Korean film based on Cho Nam-joo's bestselling novel of the same name portrays a seemingly ordinary woman in her 30s, grappling with the daily, repetitive, and often invisible burdens of motherhood, marriage, and womanhood. From the outside, Ji-young appears content-married to a supportive husband, raising a daughter, and staying home to care for the household. But slowly, her life begins to fracture.

I came to this film only after reading the novel, which I heard about through BTS leader Kim Nam-joon, who recommended it to ARMYs. In Korea, singer Irene faced backlash s...