Helen Kim

Life

Kim was born in Incheon in 1899. Her childhood name was Gi-deuk (己得). She reportedly adopted the name Hwal-lan, a rendering in Chinese characters of her baptismal name, Helen. She graduated from Ewha Haktang in 1918 and became a teacher at her alma mater. In 1922 she went to the United States, where she studied at Ohio Wesleyan University and Boston University. In 1931 she received a Doctor of Philosophy degree from Columbia University with a dissertation on rural education in Korea; for this reason she is often called "the first Korean woman to earn a doctorate."

In 1939 she succeeded the missionary Alice Appenzeller as the first Korean principal of Ewha Women's College. She went on to lead the institution as president of Ewha Womans University until her retirement in 1961. In 1950, during the Korean War, she served as director of the Office of Public Information. She died on February 10, 1970.

Ministry and Achievements

• Evangelism and enlightenment: In 1920 she organized the Ewha Evangelistic Band with teachers and students, traveling to various regions to preach and to give lectures promoting rural enlightenment.
• Women's movement: In 1922 she joined Kim Pil-rye, Yu Gak-gyeong, and others in founding the Joseon Young Women's Christian Association, the forerunner of the Korean YWCA. From 1959 until her death she served as president of the Korean National Council of Women.
• International activities: In 1928 she attended the meeting of the International Missionary Council in Jerusalem, together with Shin Heung-woo and others.

Influence on the Korean Church

Kim grew up at Ewha, an institution founded by Methodist women missionaries. She is regarded as one of the first generation of Korean leaders to carry on the Christian education of women that missionaries had begun. Through the YWCA she opened the way for church women to engage in rural work and social activities. After her retirement she continued to serve in such roles as president of the Korean Association of Christian Educators and honorary chair of the National Evangelization Movement.

Assessment

Assessments of Kim are sharply divided.

• Views emphasizing her achievements: Supporters regard her as a pioneer of women's education and the women's movement. In 1998 Ewha Womans University established the Woowol Kim Hwal-lan Prize, named after her pen name, Woowol (又月).
• Criticism of her collaboration: Under the colonial policy requiring Japanese-style names, she adopted the name Amagi Katsuran (天城活蘭). In December 1941, at a women's rally for the "decisive battle" held by the Korean Wartime Patriotic Service Corps, she urged women to take part in the war effort. The Center for Historical Truth and Justice included her in its Dictionary of Pro-Japanese Collaborators, published in 2009. On November 27, 2009, the Presidential Committee for the Inspection of Collaborations for Japanese Imperialism named her among those who committed pro-Japanese, anti-national acts during the third period (1937–1945). Her statue on the Ewha Womans University campus has also drawn ongoing criticism.

The year she became principal, 1939, fell within a period when the Japanese colonial authorities were taking over or closing Christian schools and replacing missionary principals with Koreans.