Mary F. Scranton
Encyclopedia
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 (Pearl Blossom Academy) under Emperor Gojong. Today, the Ewha Girls School is the Ewha Womans University
, one of the most prestigious women's schools in Asia. Scranton also founded the Tal Syeng Day School for Women in Seoul
and the Training School for Bible Women.
. Her father was Rev. Erastus Benton, a Methodist Episcopal minister. She married William T. Scranton; they had a son named William B. Scranton. After the death of her husband, she moved to Ohio, where her son lived. There, she became active in the Euclid Avenue Methodist Church and in the Woman's Foreign Missionary Society (WFMS). When Scranton's son was appointed to the Methodist Board in Korea in 1884, the WFMS asked Scranton to become the first female missionary in Korea.
Scranton and her co-workers experienced great difficulties because Koreans generally distrusted foreigners. They generally worked things out on their own, limiting the possibility of their learning the language. Even as she advanced in age, Scranton and her companions persisted, teaching the children English. Later, their curriculum would include Korean Language, English and classical Chinese. Later, a middle school and a primary school were established, employing Korean women as teachers. Keller somewhat criticized the early missionary group for giving their Korean students Korean English names, instead of calling them by their Korean names. However, Kim mentions that in the 1886 Korean society, "Women were not even recognized with their own names, only as someone's daughter, sister, or mother. They did not have names of their own." Their English names were probably the only name they went by as individual women.
In 1895, Scranton left Ewha. She founded the Tal Syeng Day School in Seoul and worked with Jung-Dong Methodist Episcopal Church, Tal-Syeng Methodist Episcopal Church, and Baldwin Chapel and travelled to small towns though it was very dangerous. She also trained women in evangelizing through the Training School for Bible Women. Slowly, the WFMS established churches, Sunday Schools, hospitals and dispensaries and so on, and Korea slowly began to accept foreign missionaries.
Scranton died in Korea in 1909. Scranton Memorial Hall in Ewha High School was named in her honor.
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
Missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...
. She was the first Woman's Foreign Missionary Society representative to Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
and the founder of the Ewha Girls School (Pearl Blossom Academy) under Emperor Gojong. Today, the Ewha Girls School is the Ewha Womans University
Ewha Womans University
Ewha Womans University is a private women's university in central Seoul, South Korea. 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...
, one of the most prestigious women's schools in Asia. Scranton also founded the Tal Syeng Day School for Women in 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...
and the Training School for Bible Women.
Early life
Mary Fletcher was born on born December 9, 1832 in Belchertown, MassachusettsMassachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
. Her father was Rev. Erastus Benton, a Methodist Episcopal minister. She married William T. Scranton; they had a son named William B. Scranton. After the death of her husband, she moved to Ohio, where her son lived. There, she became active in the Euclid Avenue Methodist Church and in the Woman's Foreign Missionary Society (WFMS). When Scranton's son was appointed to the Methodist Board in Korea in 1884, the WFMS asked Scranton to become the first female missionary in Korea.
Life in Korea
Though limited by lack of language skills, Scranton began work to provide Christian education to women and children. Requesting financial assistance from WFMS to purchase some land and huts, construction began in February 1886. Though unfinished, the school opened in May 1886. The first student was Kim, a high-ranking official's concubine, but she left three months later. The first permanent student was a girl (Kkon-nim) from the street whose mother had typhus; and her second student was an orphan. In 1887, King Gojong named the school "Ehwa Haktang" or "pear blossom." In the evenings, the school was the boarding home for the children and on Sundays, the children went to church in nearby Jeongdong Methodist Church.Scranton and her co-workers experienced great difficulties because Koreans generally distrusted foreigners. They generally worked things out on their own, limiting the possibility of their learning the language. Even as she advanced in age, Scranton and her companions persisted, teaching the children English. Later, their curriculum would include Korean Language, English and classical Chinese. Later, a middle school and a primary school were established, employing Korean women as teachers. Keller somewhat criticized the early missionary group for giving their Korean students Korean English names, instead of calling them by their Korean names. However, Kim mentions that in the 1886 Korean society, "Women were not even recognized with their own names, only as someone's daughter, sister, or mother. They did not have names of their own." Their English names were probably the only name they went by as individual women.
In 1895, Scranton left Ewha. She founded the Tal Syeng Day School in Seoul and worked with Jung-Dong Methodist Episcopal Church, Tal-Syeng Methodist Episcopal Church, and Baldwin Chapel and travelled to small towns though it was very dangerous. She also trained women in evangelizing through the Training School for Bible Women. Slowly, the WFMS established churches, Sunday Schools, hospitals and dispensaries and so on, and Korea slowly began to accept foreign missionaries.
Scranton died in Korea in 1909. Scranton Memorial Hall in Ewha High School was named in her honor.
Works cited
- Clark, Donald N. "Preface". In
- Kim, Eun Mee. "First Footsteps Across the Frontier". In