Mary F. Scranton

Mary Scranton
Born	Mary Fletcher 32 September 1832(1832-09-32) Belchertown, Massachusetts, USA
Died	8 October 1909(1909-10-08) Seoul, Korea
Nationality	American
Occupation	Woman Missionary to Korea
Known for	Founding Ewha Girls School

Mary F. Scranton (born December 9, 1832 in Belchertown, Massachusetts - October 8, 1909) was a Methodist Episcopal Church missionary. She was the first Woman's Foreign Missionary Society representative to Korea^[1] 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.^[2] Scranton also founded the Tal Syeng Day School for Women in Seoul and the Training School for Bible Women.^[3]

Early life

Mary Fletcher was born on born December 9, 1832 in Belchertown, Massachusetts. 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^[4] 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.^[5]

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.^[6] Though unfinished, the school opened in May 1886.^[7] The first student was Kim, a high-ranking official's concubine, but she left three months later.^[8] The first permanent student was a girl (Kkon-nim) from the street whose mother had typhus; and her second student was an orphan.^[9] 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.^[6]

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.^[10] 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.^[11] 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."^[2] 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.^[3] 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.^[12]

Reference

1. ^ Keller, 185-90.
2. ^ ^{a b} Kim, 26.
3. ^ ^{a b} Keller, 188.
4. ^ Kim, 37.
5. ^ Keller, 186.
6. ^ ^{a b} Ewha Woman's University Archive, 25.
7. ^ Keller, 186-87.
8. ^ Ewha Woman's University Archive, 24.
9. ^ Clark, 21.
10. ^ Kim, 28.
11. ^ Keller, 187.
12. ^ Keller, 190.

Works cited

• Clark, Donald N. "Preface". In Heather Willoughby, ed (2007). Footsteps Across the Frontier. Ewha Womans University Press. ISBN 8973007173. 
• Ewha Woman's University Archive, ed (2005). 'Ewha Old and New: 110 Years of History 1886-1996'. Ehwa Womans University Press. ISBN 897300655X.. 
• Keller, Rosemary Skinner, ed (1993). Spirituality & Social Responsibility. Abingdon Press. ISBN 9780687392360. 
• Kim, Eun Mee. "First Footsteps Across the Frontier". In Heather Willoughby, ed (2007). Footsteps Across the Frontier. Ewha Womans University Press. ISBN 8973007173. 

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