Ewha Sets Example for Womens Schools
By Kang Shin-who
Staff Reporter
With ``globalization fever'' hitting Korean universities, each school has set its own role model among renowned overseas universities. However, Ewha Womans University, which is leading globalization among Korean universities, has set no examples, the school head said.
It is not because the school chief is confident her school is excellent enough, but she believes her school is the only university that has no parallel to compare with worldwide.
``I believe there is no university as unique as Ewha in the world. Our school started with only one student and has become the world's largest university for female students covering all kinds of studies. There are no universities like Ewha in the world,'' Lee Bae-yong, the school president told The Korea Times in an interview.
``Specifically, our school boasts women's leadership programs and has led in the development of women's rights, and enhanced the status of women in Korea,'' she added. Hence, many school officials from overseas visit Ewha for benchmarking.
For these reasons, Ewha has become a place world figures should visit when they have a chance to come to Korea.
Since she took office four years ago, more than 100 world renowned figures including U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and University of Cambridge Vice-Chancellor Alison Richard along with Chilean President Michelle Bachelet have visited the women-only university and some of them have been given honorary degrees.
``I endeavored to invite great persons around the world, and many visited our school. It is partially thanks to the name value of Ewha and a firm network of graduates, who are influential for our university,'' she said.
Lee has also launched a history field trip program for students and background lectures of historic places. She believes she has an advantage as a historian who can promote Korea and her school to her overseas counterparts and scholars.
``I believe there is no better person who can introduce Korea to foreigners than me,'' she said.
Asked about her achievements so far, she said Ewha has launched quality global programs under her leadership.
Under the ``Global Ewha 2010'' project, Ewha has been expanding its international outreach programs in major cities around the world including Beijing, Tokyo, London and New York. The project aims to solidify its network with prestigious universities worldwide and send some 60 percent of its freshmen overseas by 2010.
It is now working with 754 universities in 57 countries around the world. Along with this plan, it wants to increase the proportion of foreign professors and also English-only lectures by 30 percent. Currently, all students at the university have to complete at least four English-only courses in their major and general education subjects.
``We send the largest number of students abroad among Korean universities. I ran in program to broaden our scope in the world, and we have seen dramatic changes not only in quantity but in quality,'' Lee said.
She continued, ``Our students can widen their territories and better understand other cultures. We should produce graduates like Ban Ki-moon (U.N Secretary-General) and Nobel Prize winners.
``I have made efforts to change our university culture so that students can enjoy life on our campus.''
Lee has also strengthened education in the humanities and culture. ``If the culture level of Korean universities is improved, the competitiveness and trust of our country can be raised. I was also trying to teach students how to coexist with nature.''
She stresses that the unity of studies encourages professors to cross over their boundaries and do joint-projects with other professors. Currently, four Nobel Prize winners have visited and lectured at the school.
Regarding a Paju campus, about 30 minutes away from Seoul, she said the Global Peace Center will be placed by the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) along with an ecology center. "We need to approach the North in preparation for unification and educate students on the issue. Our school will launch programs there in the next two years.''
The campus will be an education and research complex and will accommodate industrial and academic research centers, dormitories for foreign professors and life-long education facilities for the school's alumnae.
She said Ewah contributed to the development of Korea by giving more educational opportunities to women, and nurturing female leaders. Founded by the Methodist missionary Mary F. Scranton in 1886, Ewha has some 23,000 students in 14 colleges and graduate schools. So far, the university has produced over 170,000 graduates and many of them play active roles both here and overseas.