Ewha Womans University


Ewha Womans University is a private women's university in Seoul founded in 1886 by Mary F. Scranton under Emperor Gojong. It is the first founded university in South Korea. It is currently the world's largest female educational institute and one of the most prestigious universities in South Korea.

History

Ewha Womans University traces its roots back to Mary F. Scranton's Ewha Haktang mission school for girls, which opened with one student on May 31, 1886. The name Ewha, which means “Pear Blossoms”, was bestowed by the Emperor Gojong the following year. The image of the pear blossom is incorporated in the school's logo.
The school began providing college courses in 1910, and professional courses for women in 1925. The high school section, now known as Ewha Girls' High School, separated from the college section and is currently located in Jung-gu, Seoul. Both institutions share the same motto and the "pear blossoms" image in their logos.
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.

Student population

According to figures provided by the university in April 2018, there are 21,596 enrolled students at the university.
While figures on the student body's gender breakdown are not available, Korea JoongAng Daily reported in 2003 there were 10 male students enrolled at the time. In 2009, Asian Correspondent reported that male students make up 30% of all foreign international students at the university.

Collaborations

The university collaborates with around 830 partners in 64 countries including Australian National University, Cornell University, Freie University of Berlin, Ghent University, Harvard University, Indiana University, King’s College London, Nanyang Technological University, Peking University, University of Kuala Lumpur, University of California, Irvine, University of British Columbia, University of Edinburgh, University of Hong Kong, University of South Carolina, Uppsala University, Waseda University, and a direct exchange program with Mills College in Oakland, California.

Name

The university now explains its peculiar name by saying that while the lack of an apostrophe in "Womans University" is unconventional, the use of "Woman" rather than "Women" was normal in the past.
It claims the use of "Womans" carries special meaning in that the early founders of the college thought that every woman is to be respected; to promote this idea, they chose the word "woman" to avoid lumping students together under the word "women". The claim has not been substantiated.

Museum

Ewha Womans University Museum opened in April 1935. It has a wide range of artifacts, ranging from paintings, ceramics, crafts, doubles and folk items, and its main collection is the Korean National Treasure No. 107 white porcelain, iron and grape jars. The museum consists of a permanent exhibition hall, a planning exhibition hall, a donation exhibition hall and a Damin Goksik art museum.

Academics

Colleges

;College of Liberal Arts
;College of Social Sciences
;College of Natural Sciences
;ELTEC College of Engineering
;College of Music
;College of Art & Design
;College of Education
;College of Business Administration
;College of Science & Industry Convergence
;College of Medicine
;College of Nursing
;College of Pharmacy
;College of Scranton
;The Graduate School
;Professional Graduate School
;Special Graduate School

Controversies and criticisms

, the seventh principal and first Korean principal of Ewha, is considered to be pro-Japanese. She is known to have encouraged young men to enlist in the Japanese army. The statue of Helen Kim and the building named after her on campus has been criticized. Students have protested many times to take down the statue.
While Ewha Womans University has been the center of women's rights movements that had positive impacts on Korean society, this feminist feature created controversies in Korea, where misogyny is deep-seated. One example of controversies was men's benefit from military service. Originally, getting extra points on employment and being paid for higher step in the salary class were available to males who had done their mandatory military service. Yet, in 1999, Ewha Womans University students and one male student, who was a disabled student at Yonsei University, protested that this was sexist and discriminatory toward disabled people. This case eventually went to court, and the court ruled that this was, indeed, sexism and discrimination toward the disabled.
Ewha Womans University became embroiled in the 2016 South Korean political scandal, because a former student, Chung Yoo-ra, was admitted under a special rule change by virtue of her mother's close connections to South Korean President Park Geun-hye despite not meeting requirements. Students had already been protesting against some of the university's unilateral changes to the degree system and departments before the political scandal blew up. As a result, the university's president, Choi Kyunghee, was ousted and convicted and Chung Yoo-ra's degree was rescinded.

Achievements

Politics and government

Public transportation