Mary F. Scranton
| Mary Scranton | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Mary Fletcher 12 September 1832 Belchertown, Massachusetts, USA |
| Died | 8 October 1909 (aged 77) Seoul, Korea |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Woman Missionary to Korea |
| Known for | Founding Ewha Girls School |
Mary F. Scranton (December 9, 1832, Belchertown, Massachusetts – October 8, 1909) was a Methodist Episcopal Church missionary. She was the first Woman's Foreign Missionary Society representative to Korea and the founder of the Ewha Girls School (Pear 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. Scranton also founded the Tal Syeng Day School for Women in Seoul and the Training School for Bible Women.
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 and in the Woman's Foreign Missionary Society (WFMS). When Scranton's son Dr. William B. Scranton was appointed to the Methodist Medical Mission in Korea in 1884, the WFMS asked Scranton to become the first female missionary 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. Though unfinished, the school opened in May 1886. The first student was Kim, a high-ranking official's concubine, but she left three months later. The first permanent student was a girl (Kkon-nim) from the street whose mother had typhus; and her second student was an orphan. 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.
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