Descendents of Ewha founder visit
Published: 09 Oct. 2009, 03:27
Ewha Womans University held a series of events this week in memory of its founder, Mary F. Scranton, after inviting eight of her descendents to the campus. Scranton died 100 years ago.
Descendents from England, France and Canada arrived in Korea on Sunday and met with Ewha students Monday in a campus auditorium.
On Wednesday, they participated in a worship service at the school to pay respects to Scranton. Yesterday, they visited the Yanghwajin Foreign Missionary Cemetery in Mapo, Seoul, where the founder is buried. They also attended an academic symposium to discuss Scranton’s achievements.
In a Tuesday press briefing, they said that they are overwhelmed by how Scranton contributed to the school and in educating Korean women.
“Before coming to Korea, we did not have deep understanding of Scranton’s devotion and achievements here in Korea. But now we are able to feel the spirit and feeling that Scranton had planted 123 years ago,” said Sally Gale, 47, who came from Ontario, Canada. Kevin, Gale’s husband, said, “Scranton came to Korea to show the love of God to Korean people. For her, love is action, not words.”
Until early this year, Ewha was concerned that the school might not discover descendents of Scranton to mark the 100th anniversary her death. But Ellen Swanson, 56, who used to teach English in Korea and now lives in the U.S. state of Connecticut, solved the problem.
“It was in 1997 when I was teaching English in a local university in Korea. One of my Korean students gave me a Korean history book as a gift and the name ‘Mary F. Scranton’ caught my eyes in the book because a lot of residents in my hometown had the same last name,” said Swanson. “Even a library in my town is also called Scranton.”
Afterwards, she tried to find out if the founder of Ewha hailed from her hometown, but was initially unsuccessful. By chance, Swanson found a report about Scranton in a town library in October 2007. She gave up her occupation and started searching for Scranton’s descendents.
Swanson discovered Sally Gale, Scranton’s fourth generation descendent, at the Web site www.ancestry.com. With help from Gale, Swanson was able to locate other descendents.
“Scranton is my hero. As I was researching on Scranton, I came to know how great an achievement she had accomplished. I am planning to introduce her spirit, philosophy, works and life to as many people as possible,” Swanson said.
Along with her son, William B. Scranton, and his family, Scranton arrived in Seoul on June 20, 1885. At age 53, she was the first female missionary in Korea after being appointed by the Woman’s Foreign Missionary Society of the U.S. North Methodist church. She not only spread Christianity, but also began efforts to educate Korean women. Scranton established Ewha Hakdang, the first girls’ school in Korea, in November 1886 in Jeong-dong, central Seoul, where the current Ewha Girls’ High School is located.
By Lee Min-yong [[email protected]]
Descendents from England, France and Canada arrived in Korea on Sunday and met with Ewha students Monday in a campus auditorium.
On Wednesday, they participated in a worship service at the school to pay respects to Scranton. Yesterday, they visited the Yanghwajin Foreign Missionary Cemetery in Mapo, Seoul, where the founder is buried. They also attended an academic symposium to discuss Scranton’s achievements.
In a Tuesday press briefing, they said that they are overwhelmed by how Scranton contributed to the school and in educating Korean women.
“Before coming to Korea, we did not have deep understanding of Scranton’s devotion and achievements here in Korea. But now we are able to feel the spirit and feeling that Scranton had planted 123 years ago,” said Sally Gale, 47, who came from Ontario, Canada. Kevin, Gale’s husband, said, “Scranton came to Korea to show the love of God to Korean people. For her, love is action, not words.”
Until early this year, Ewha was concerned that the school might not discover descendents of Scranton to mark the 100th anniversary her death. But Ellen Swanson, 56, who used to teach English in Korea and now lives in the U.S. state of Connecticut, solved the problem.
“It was in 1997 when I was teaching English in a local university in Korea. One of my Korean students gave me a Korean history book as a gift and the name ‘Mary F. Scranton’ caught my eyes in the book because a lot of residents in my hometown had the same last name,” said Swanson. “Even a library in my town is also called Scranton.”
Afterwards, she tried to find out if the founder of Ewha hailed from her hometown, but was initially unsuccessful. By chance, Swanson found a report about Scranton in a town library in October 2007. She gave up her occupation and started searching for Scranton’s descendents.
Swanson discovered Sally Gale, Scranton’s fourth generation descendent, at the Web site www.ancestry.com. With help from Gale, Swanson was able to locate other descendents.
“Scranton is my hero. As I was researching on Scranton, I came to know how great an achievement she had accomplished. I am planning to introduce her spirit, philosophy, works and life to as many people as possible,” Swanson said.
Along with her son, William B. Scranton, and his family, Scranton arrived in Seoul on June 20, 1885. At age 53, she was the first female missionary in Korea after being appointed by the Woman’s Foreign Missionary Society of the U.S. North Methodist church. She not only spread Christianity, but also began efforts to educate Korean women. Scranton established Ewha Hakdang, the first girls’ school in Korea, in November 1886 in Jeong-dong, central Seoul, where the current Ewha Girls’ High School is located.
By Lee Min-yong [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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