On May 30, 2014, Ewha Women's University held a ceremony celebrating its 128th anniversary. President Sun Wook Kim, commenting that "looking into the history of our lives is the fuel for our future," proclaimed that Ewha, as the "global hub of women's education," must actively examine its history in order to be involved with various social issues pertaining to women. (1) She was adamant in her resolution to promote women's equality and education through programs such as the Ewha Global Empowerment Program, which advocates for women's leadership in Asian and African nations. How did a Confucianist, male-dominated society become the hub of women's education and the site the world's largest female educational institute?

Historically, women missionaries' work was deemed crucial in advancing Korean women's social status. While the contributions of women missionaries have been researched extensively, the controversies and negative effects of their ministry have often been overlooked. This article examines the controversial role of female missionaries in the advancement of Korean women's social status, focusing on their educational ministry, pro-Japanese political orientation, and imperialistic attitudes.

WOMAN'S WORK FOR WOMAN

Christian missionary work in Korea was a part of a widespread foreign mission movement in the United States. While missionaries from Australia, Canada, and England came to Korea during the 1890s and the early twentieth century, American Presbyterian and Methodist missionaries outnumbered them and hence dominated most of the missionary endeavors during the initial stage of Protestant mission in Korea. (2) With the founding of the Women's Foreign Missionary Society (WFMS) in 1869, a women's missiology called "Woman's Work for Woman" arose. This new type of women's missiology demonstrated continuity from nineteenth-century mission theory by accentuating traditional evangelism. However, it was also groundbreaking due to its systematization of a missiology of "social uplift" and civilization. (3) The optimism found in this unique women's missiology can be traced back to the post-Civil War social atmosphere in the United States. (4) Empowered by the social ambiance and driven by their firm belief in a holistic mission, Western Christian women involved in the movement sent educated female missionaries to many parts of Asia.

"Woman's Work for Woman" used education, medical work, and evangelization to raise women's social status and to empower them. The adherents of this movement believed in the worldwide unity of the female gender and claimed that Christian missionaries ought to provide quality education and medical care to empower heathen women. (5) It was in this spirit that the WFMSsent the first female physicians to Korea and founded the world's largest women's university in Seoul, now Ewha Women's University. (6) While male missionaries such as Henry G. Appenzeller engaged in educational ministry as well, female missionaries were the leading force in providing education to both boys and girls. (7)

THE FIRST CONTROVERSY: EDUCATION AND MISSION

The women missionaries' primary mission strategy was education. The purpose of this education, however, was a source of controversy within the missionary community. While some missionaries advocated raising indigenous women's social status by providing general education,...