The History of Mary Scranton & My Beginning Into Her Legacy

In 1883, a woman by the name of Lucinda B. Baldwin made a special donation of $88 to the Women’s Foreign Missionary Society to be used solely for the education of Korean women. Soon after, the Women’s Foreign Missionary Societies of the Methodist Episcopal Church (WFMS) sent Mrs. Mary F. Scranton as the first female missionary to Korea. 

Mrs. Mary Scranton was a woman faith and courageousness. She did everything in her might to grant the wish of Mrs. Baldwin, to develop the rights to the Korean women education. Mrs. Scranton believed that educating women would change their lives and would be the best thing for the Korean society. Though she did not speak the Korean language, all of her sentiments were widespread at the time; she overcame all the obstacles and established Ewha Hakdang, the ‘Pear Blossom School’ in 1886. 

Over the years, Ewha Hakdang expanded to include an elementary school, middle school, high school and a college. The college that grew out of Ewha Hakdang is now Ewha Woman’s University. EHWA University, which is the biggest women's institution in the world, would not be here today if not for    

Mrs. Scranton.

In 2007, the North American alumni of Ewha Girls' High School decided to raise funds for scholarships in honor of Mrs. Mary F. Scranton. In 2009, they donated a significant amount of scholarship funds to the Scranton Women’s Leadership Center, so that women in developing countries could go to school just as what Mrs. Scranton did for Korean women.

Mrs. Scranton’s vision and dedication for Korean women empowered women to live with dignity, a legacy that is evident in the leadership of Korean women worldwide. Following the footsteps of Mrs. Scranton’s vision, the Scranton Women’s Leadership Center strives to make the impossible become possible and be a guiding light for the world.

In February of this year, I was accepted to be a participant in the 2012 Young Women's Leadership Program (YWLP) located in Seoul, Korea. The YLWP is a sponsored program by the Scranton's Women Center. Through this program; I have grown as a global leader, have a concrete view of global peace and have built an international network with individuals from Korea, Japan and Hong Kong.