Ewha Womans University
Encyclopedia
Korean language
Korean is the official language of the country Korea, in both South and North. It is also one of the two official languages in the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture in People's Republic of China. There are about 78 million Korean speakers worldwide. In the 15th century, a national writing...
: 이화여자대학교, Hanja
Hanja
Hanja is the Korean name for the Chinese characters hanzi. More specifically, it refers to those Chinese characters borrowed from Chinese and incorporated into the Korean language with Korean pronunciation...
: 梨花女子大學校) is a private women's university in central Seoul
Seoul
Seoul , officially the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea. A megacity with a population of over 10 million, it is the largest city proper in the OECD developed world...
, South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
. It is one of the city's largest institutions of higher learning and currently the world's largest female educational institute. It is one of the best-known universities in South Korea, and often considered to be the top women's university there. Ewha was founded in 1886 by the American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Methodist Episcopal
Methodist Episcopal Church
The Methodist Episcopal Church, sometimes referred to as the M.E. Church, was a development of the first expression of Methodism in the United States. It officially began at the Baltimore Christmas Conference in 1784, with Francis Asbury and Thomas Coke as the first bishops. Through a series of...
missionary Mary F. Scranton
Mary F. Scranton
Mary F. Scranton was a Methodist Episcopal Church missionary. She was the first Woman's Foreign Missionary Society representative to Korea and the founder of the Ewha Girls School under Emperor Gojong...
.
"Ewha" is a Sino-Korean term for "pear blossom". While the use of "Womans" is unconventional, it has a special meaning. The early founders of college thought that every woman in this community is worth being respected. So they chose the word "woman" avoiding lumping students together under the word "women." Putting the additional "s", they completed the meaning of plural.
History
Ewha Womans University traces its roots back to Mary F. ScrantonMary F. Scranton
Mary F. Scranton was a Methodist Episcopal Church missionary. She was the first Woman's Foreign Missionary Society representative to Korea and the founder of the Ewha Girls School under Emperor Gojong...
's Ihwa Hakdang (also Ewha Hakdang; 이화학당 梨花學堂) mission school for girls, which opened with only one student on May 31, 1886 (Lee, 2001). The name, which means “Pear blossom academy”, was bestowed by the Emperor Gojong the following year. The school began to provide college courses in 1910, and professional courses for women in 1925. Immediately following liberation of Korea on August 15, 1945, the college received government permission to become a university. It was the first South Korean university to be officially organized.
Ewha is now responsible for many firsts in Korean history: Korea's first female doctor, Esther Park
Esther Park
Esther Park, also spelt Estherpark, is a suburb of Kempton Park, in Gauteng province, South Africa....
; its first woman to get a doctoral degree, Helen Kim (who later became the university's first Korean president); the first female Korean lawyer, Lee Tai-young; the first female justice on the Constitutional Court, Jeon Hyo-sook, and the first female prime minister, Han Myeong-sook, were all Ewha graduates. The "firsts" is in part due to the fact that many Korean women in older generations were discouraged from attending co-ed universities in Korea. Ewha's motto is "Frontier Ewha."
Timeline:
- 1886: In May, Mary F. ScrantonMary F. ScrantonMary F. Scranton was a Methodist Episcopal Church missionary. She was the first Woman's Foreign Missionary Society representative to Korea and the founder of the Ewha Girls School under Emperor Gojong...
, an American Methodist missionary, opens Korea's first school for women in her house with a single student. In November, the construction of a school building (the former base of Ewha Womans University) is completed in Jeong-dong. - 1887: King GojongGojong of KoreaGojong , the Emperor Gwangmu was the twenty-sixth king of the Korean Joseon Dynasty and the first emperor of the Korean Empire.-King of the Joseon:Gojong took the throne in 1863 when still a child...
officially names the school "Ihwa (also Ewha)." - 1910: College courses begin.
- 1925: Ewha Women's Professional School opens.
- 1935: The campus moves to its current location.
- 1946: Ewha becomes Ewha Womans University, Korea's first university for women.
- 1950: Ewha graduate schools open.
- 1977: Women's Studies classes begin.
- 1984: The School of Continuing Education opens.
- 1996: Ewha opens its College of Engineering, the first such school in a women's university.
- 2001: Division of International Studies established.
- 2003: Married women allowed to enroll for the first time.
- 2006: Ewha offers inaugural Ewha Global Partnership Program and completes the restoration of Ewha Hakdang.
- 2007: Ewha establishes Scranton College, a specialized undergraduate college incorporating its honors program and the Division of International Studies.
- 2008: Ki Sung-hwa becomes the first married woman to graduate.
Reputation and performance
A total of 170 thousand women have graduated. The university is proceeding with a plan called Initiative Ewha that it hopes will improve its global reputation. As of 2008, the university was ranked between 400th and 500th in the world.Admission to Ewha Womans University is selective. According to the Joongang Daily's ranking of universities in Korea, Ewha Womans University was ranked 9th in 2003 and, 8th in 2007. When Josun Ilbo, another Korean newspaper, and the British Quacquarelli Symonds did its ranking in 2009, Ewha came in 6th. However, the university has been ranked within the top 3 in the NCSI (National Consumer Satisfaction Index) University rankings for 4 consecutive years. Ewha also topped the Korean Council for University Education
Korean Council for University Education
The Korean Council for University Education is a private association of four-year higher educational institutions in the Republic of Korea intended to promote cooperation between universities and represent their interests, particularly regarding university autonomy from state regulation, to the...
's 2005 University General Assessment List.
Internationally
- Beijing University designates "Ewha University Day"
- Ewha is Korea's only Harvard College in Asia Program (HCAP) Partner
- Ewha, Wellesley College and Barnard CollegeBarnard CollegeBarnard College is a private women's liberal arts college and a member of the Seven Sisters. Founded in 1889, Barnard has been affiliated with Columbia University since 1900. The campus stretches along Broadway between 116th and 120th Streets in the Morningside Heights neighborhood in the borough...
agree to jointly develop World Women's Leadership Program
Nationwide
- 15 out of 32 female ministers graduated from Ewha /46.8%
- 17 out of 40 female members of the 17th parliament graduated from Ewha / 42.5%
- Ewha ranks 5th in the nation for the number of graduates passing the judicial, civil, and foreign officers examinations. (2007)
- Ewha produced 2nd largest number of professional women leaders. (2005)
- Ranked first among universities on the National Customer Satisfaction Index (NSCI) in the overall evaluation category (1995, 2005)
Research
- Recognized for outstanding programs of specialization : Bio-science and International Development programs (Recognized for Core Competence Development Project Interdisciplinary Life Science and International Development programs Specialization Program on International Development Cooperation)
- Selected for 2006 National Core Research Center project: Center for Cell Signalling & Drug Discovery Research
- Selected as a Creative Research Project: Research Center of MEMS Space Telescope, Symbiosystem Research Center
- Selected for the Humanities Korea Project: The Trans-Humanities Research Team
Students
- Ewha ranks 4th in the pass rate of the National Judicial Exam level 1
- Ewha students compete against students from around the world, and take top prize at the "Debate Asia" Competition
- A Ewha undergrad student's paper is published in a leading international chemistry journal
- Lee Yun-jin, a third-year student discovers the mechanism of oxygen-transmission protein
- Choi Yoo-Sun becomes the youngest panelist to debate at the World Economic ForumWorld Economic ForumThe World Economic Forum is a Swiss non-profit foundation, based in Cologny, Geneva, best known for its annual meeting in Davos, a mountain resort in Graubünden, in the eastern Alps region of Switzerland....
, "Davos Forum", debating with Gordon BrownGordon BrownJames Gordon Brown is a British Labour Party politician who was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 until 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Labour Government from 1997 to 2007...
, the Prime Minister of the United KingdomPrime Minister of the United KingdomThe Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and... - Prominent international society recognizes an Ewhaian Winner of 2007 *NIM A Young Scientist Award*
- Park Na-hee, a physics student, participates in the "NASA Space Structure Research"
Undergraduate
The undergraduate departments of Ewha are divided among 11 colleges with 65 departments. Likewise, the graduate courses are divided into 13 graduate schools.- College of Liberal Arts
- College of Social Sciences
- College of EngineeringCollege of Engineering at Ewha Womans UniversityThe College of Engineering is one of eleven major academic divisions of the Ewha Womans University. Established in 1996 with four departments, Computer Science, Electronics Engineering, Environmental Science, and Architecture, the college currently offers B.S., M.S., and Ph.D...
- College of Natural Sciences
- College of Arts (Music/Fine Arts/Design)
- College of Law
- College of Pharmacy
- College of Education
- College of Business Administration
- College of Health Sciences
- Scranton College (Honors Program, Division of International Studies)
Scranton College opened its doors on March 1, 2007. The College was named after Mary F. Scranton, the missionary who founded Ewha 120 years ago. As a unique program that stands at the core of ‘Global Ewha 2010 Project,’ Scranton College is designed to educate our students and enable them to become effective leaders in a globalized world.
There are two main programs in the College: the Scranton Honors Program which encompasses a multitude of disciplines, and the Division of International Studies which is specifically aimed at equipping students with the capacity to compete in the global arena. Scranton offers comprehensive interdisciplinary courses which allow more freedom, creativity, and individuality to students. Small-sized classes conducted in English and the study-abroad programs aim to equip students with an open, flexible mindset and broader scholastic view required in the age of globalization.
The Division of International Studies (DIS) was first established in March 2001 as an undergraduate program where English is the language of instruction. It was the first-of-its-kind to be established in Korea. Now, as part of Scranton College, DIS provides individualized curricula for the students in order to help them gain international expertise in their area of choice.
Graduate
- The Graduate School
- The Graduate School of International Studies
- The Graduate School of Translation and Interpretation
- The Graduate School of Social Welfare
- The Graduate School of Business
- The Graduate School of Medicine
- The Graduate School of Education
- The Graduate School of Design
- The Graduate School of Theology
- The Graduate School of Policy Sciences
- The Graduate School of Music in Modern Media
- The Graduate School of Clinical Health Sciences
- The Graduate School of Clinical Dentistry
Distinguished Fellows of Ewha Academy for Advanced Studies
- Muhammad YunusMuhammad YunusMuhammad Yunus is a Bangladeshi economist and founder of the Grameen Bank, an institution that provides microcredit to help its clients establish creditworthiness and financial self-sufficiency. In 2006 Yunus and Grameen received the Nobel Peace Prize...
, President of Grameen Bank, 2006 Nobel Peace Prize Recipient - Prof. Robert H. GrubbsRobert H. GrubbsRobert Howard Grubbs is an American chemist and Nobel laureate.As he noted in his official Nobel Prize autobiography, "In some places, my birthplace is listed as Calvert City and in others Possum Trot [NB: both in Marshall County]...
, 2005 Nobel Chemistry Prize Recipient - Prof. Francis FukuyamaFrancis FukuyamaYoshihiro Francis Fukuyama is an American political scientist, political economist, and author. He is a Senior Fellow at the Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law at Stanford. Before that he served as a professor and director of the International Development program at the School of...
, author of The End of History - Prof. Jocelyn Bell BurnellJocelyn Bell BurnellSusan Jocelyn Bell Burnell, DBE, FRS, FRAS , is a British astrophysicist. As a postgraduate student she discovered the first radio pulsars with her thesis supervisor Antony Hewish. She was president of the Institute of Physics from October 2008 until October 2010, and was interim president...
, The first discoverer of pulsars - Prof. Choy Jin-ho, recipient of Korea's Most Outstanding Scientist Award
- Prof. Park Kyung-seo, Korea's first ambassador of human rights
- Prof. Rhee Sue-goo, Korea's first National Scientist
- Prof. Shin Yong-ha, recipient of Korea's Academy of Science Award
- Prof. Jin Duk-Kyu, first president of Ewha Academy for Advanced Studies
Notable alumnae
Twelve out of the 25 female ministers since national independence and one third of the 17 female National AssemblyNational Assembly of South Korea
The National Assembly of the Republic of Korea is a 299-member unicameral legislature. The latest general elections were held on April 9, 2008. Single-member constituencies comprise 245 of the National Assembly's seats, while the remaining 54 are allocated by proportional representation...
members are graduates of University.
Graduates include the first woman attorney, first woman PhD
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
, first woman Prime Minister of South Korea
Prime Minister of South Korea
The Prime Minister of the Republic of Korea is appointed by the President with the National Assembly's approval. Unlike prime ministers in the parliamentary system, the Prime Minister of South Korea is not required to be a member of parliament....
, and first woman justice of the Constitutional Court of Korea
Constitutional Court of Korea
The Constitutional Court of Korea is an independent and specialised court in South Korea, whose primarily role is the reviewing constitutionality under the Constitution of the Republic of Korea...
. Ewha alumnae have contributed to the fields of politics, business, media, science, social welfare, civil society, culture, and arts.
- Bae Su-ahBae Su-ahBae Su-ah is a South Korean author who was born in 1965. Originally a government employee at Gimpo Airport in Incheon, Bae wrote stories as a hobby. After beginning writing, she left her job and became one of the most unconventional writers in Korea....
—Novelist - Kim Chi-wonKim Chi-won-Life:Kim Chi-won is the product of a literary family. Born in 1943 in the Gyeonggi Province, her mother is Ch’oe Chong-hui, who was one of the most popular female Korean writers in the twentieth century and Kim's sister, Kim Ch’ae-won is also a writer In 1965, Kim Chi-won graduated from Ehwa...
—Novelist - Bang Jee-Young—Pianist
- Chunghi ChooChunghi ChooChunghi Choo is a jewelry designer and metalsmith who was born in Incheon, Korea in 1938. She received a BFA degree from Ewha Womans University in Seoul, Korea, where she majored in Oriental painting...
(born 1938), jewelry designer and metalsmith - Yuko FuekiYuko FuekiYuko Fueki is a Japanese actress. She is most popular in South Korea, where she is known as Yoo Min.Fueki made her feature film debut in the 2001 film Hotaru and, in the same year, her Korean TV debut. She is more popular in South Korea than in Japan...
(2004, Informatics)—Japan and Korea-based actress - Hong Eun-joo (2003, Exercise, and Sport & Leisure Science)—Youngest Korean international football referee
- Grace ParkGrace Park (golfer)Grace Park is a South Korean professional golfer on the LPGA Tour.-Amateur career:Park was born in Seoul, South Korea. She moved to Hawaii at the age of 12, and then to Arizona. She received the 1996 Dial Award as top female high-school scholar-athlete in the United States...
(2003) —LPGA golfer - Son Ji-ae (1985, Political Science and Diplomacy)—First Korean CNN Seoul Bureau Chief
- Choi In-a (1984, Political Science and Diplomacy)—First female Executive Managing Director in Samsung Group (Executive Vice President)
- Lee Hyang-rim (1984, Biology)—First woman CEO in the imported automobile industry
- No Seok-mi (1980, Business Administration)—First female CPA in Korea
- Jeon Hyo-sook (1973, Law)—First female justice in the Constitutional Court of Korea
- Lee Sung-nam (1970, English Literature)—First female member of the Monetary Committee
- Han Myung-sook, (1967, French Literature)—First woman Prime Minister of South Korea
- Jeon Sin-ae (1965, English Literature)—Former Assistant Secretary, U.S. Department of Labor
- Jang Myung-soo (1964, Journalism & Mass Communication)—First woman CEO of a daily newspaper
- Insoo Kim BergInsoo Kim BergInsoo Kim Berg was a Korean-born American psychotherapist who was a pioneer of solution focused brief therapy. She influenced the fields of psychotherapy, consulting, supervision and coaching with concepts such as resource-orientation and brief therapy...
(1955, Pharmacy)—US-based world renowned psychotherapist, lecturer and author - Hai Won Chang (1950, Pharmacy)—First women scientist in the field of chemistry
- Lee Tae-youngLee Tae-YoungLee Tae-Young is a South Korean footballer who since 2009 has played for Qingdao Jonoon.- External links :* at kleaguei.com...
(1936, Home Economics)—First female attorney of law - Yu Gwan-sunYu Gwan-sunRyu, Gwan-Sun was a student and organizer in what would come to be known as the March 1st Movement against the Japanese colonial rule of Korea in South Chungcheong. In 1919, Yu, Kwan-Sun was a student at Ewha Womans University's high school in Seoul, where she witnessed the beginnings of the March...
(1919)—Leader of March 1st MovementMarch 1st MovementThe March 1st Movement, or Samil Movement, was one of the earliest public displays of Korean resistance during the occupation of the Korean Empire by Japan. The name refers to an event that occurred on March 1, 1919, hence the movement's name, literally meaning "Three-One Movement" or "March First... - Helen Kim (1918, College Course)—First female Doctor of Philosophy, First female Bachelor of Arts (1914)
- Hah Ran-sa (1895, Ewha School)—First Korean woman to acquire a U.S. Bachelor of Arts degree
- Esther Park (1886, Ewha School)—First female physician
See also
- Education in South KoreaEducation in South KoreaEducation in South Korea is viewed as being crucial for success and competition is consequently very heated and fierce. A centralized administration oversees the process for the education of children from kindergarten to the third and final year of high school. Mathematics, science, Korean, social...
- List of colleges and universities in South Korea
- List of Korea-related topics
- Ewha Womans University StationEwha Womans University StationEwha Womans University Station is a station on the Seoul Subway Line 2. As its name indicates, it serves the nearby Ewha Womans University, although Sinchon Station on the Gyeongui Line is closer to the school...
- Idae areaIdae areaIdae is a neighbourhood in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul.-Name:Idae is the abbreviated form of Ewha Womans University . Like Hongdae, the nearby university serves as a metonym for the area.-Attractions:...