Educator of Girls in Korea
In 1885, Mary F. Scranton became the first woman missionary sent to Korea by the Woman’s Foreign Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church (North). Scranton established Korea’s first girls school, Ewha School for Girls, shared the Gospel message with Korean women and helped them organize for Christian service. More than a century later, Korean and other Asian Christian women are still benefiting from and building on her foundational work.
Today, Scranton’s early efforts have multiplied a thousand-fold in South Korea. Ewha University, the world’s largest women’s university, and Ewha High School in South Korea are both legacies of Scranton’s work. The fruit of Scranton’s mission is affecting women from across Asia through the work of the Scranton Women’s Center for Leadership Development, a United Methodist Women partner in Seoul.
