Helen Kim (also ''Kim Hwal-lan'', 1899 – 1970) was a South Korean politician, educator, social activist, and

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

. Her pen name was Wuwol(우월;又月). Kim is the founder of the daily Korean newspaper, ''

The Korea Times ''The Korea Times'' is the oldest of three English-language newspapers published daily in South Korea. It is a sister paper of the ''Hankook Ilbo'', a major Korean language daily; both are owned by Dongwha Enterprise, a wood-based manufacturer ...

''.

Biography

Kim was born in

Incheon Incheon (; ; or Inch'ŏn; literally "kind river"), formerly Jemulpo or Chemulp'o (제물포) until the period after 1910, officially the Incheon Metropolitan City (인천광역시, 仁川廣域市), is a city located in northwestern South Kore ...

to a large, modern family. She attended

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

schools as a girl. She attended Ewha Girls School. Between graduating from Ewha, she "established the national YWCA Korea" in 1922. Then she went to

Wesleyan College Wesleyan College is a private, liberal arts women's college in Macon, Georgia. Founded in 1836, Wesleyan was the first college in the world chartered to grant degrees to women. History The school was chartered on December 23, 1836, as the Geo ...

where she earned her bachelor's degree in 1924. Kim went to

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original campu ...

for a master's in philosophy (1931) and then received her PhD in education from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

in 1931. Kim later became dean of a girls' college (Ewha College) in 1931. By the time of her death, this school will have become the largest women's university in the world. Kim was involved with Kŭnwuhwoe, which was a national women's organization that was dedicated to ending the "remaining Korean

feudal Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was the combination of the legal, economic, military, cultural and political customs that flourished in Middle Ages, medieval Europe between the 9th and 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a wa ...

practices and beliefs as well as colonial constraints." However, she didn't stay involved for long because she was "unwilling to work with women who were

Marxists Marxism is a left-wing to far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand class relations and social conflict and a dialectic ...

and

socialists Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the eco ...

." In 1945, Kim, O Ch'ǒn-sǒk, Yu Ŏk-kyǒm and Paek Nak-chun formed the Korean Committee on Education. This committee worked with the United States in the Education Bureau, making recommendations about schools and their staff. Kim became director of the Office of Public Information for President

Syngman Rhee Syngman Rhee (, ; 26 March 1875 – 19 July 1965) was a South Korean politician who served as the first president of South Korea from 1948 to 1960. Rhee was also the first and last president of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Ko ...

in 1948. In 1949, she attended the

United Nations General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; french: link=no, Assemblée générale, AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as the main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ of the UN. Curr ...

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

. As the director of the Office of Public Information, she recommended that an English newspaper was needed. She chose the name of the paper, deciding that ''The Korea Times'' was the best name for representing the whole country. The newspaper was published on November 1, 1950.

Controversy

Kim is a controversial figure because of her involvement in activities that were considered "pro-Japanese" during the Japanese occupation of Korea. As the principal of Ehwa, she used her position to inspire others to encourage the men in their lives to join the military draft for the Japanese army. Kim herself justified her actions as "necessary in order to keep Ewha open under harsh colonial policies" and could also be seen as consistent with

Methodist Church Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related Christian denomination, denominations of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John W ...

teachings (Kim's religion). Kim continues to be an agent of controversy, with her

effigy An effigy is an often life-size sculptural representation of a specific person, or a prototypical figure. The term is mostly used for the makeshift dummies used for symbolic punishment in political protests and for the figures burned in certai ...

being burned and students protesting her

statue A statue is a free-standing sculpture in which the realistic, full-length figures of persons or animals are carved or cast in a durable material such as wood, metal or stone. Typical statues are life-sized or close to life-size; a sculpture t ...

References

External links

Helen Kim (1899–1970)
: Columbia University
김활란:대한민국 학술원

Helen Kim

Helen Kim
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kim, Helen 1899 births 1970 deaths Korean collaborators with Imperial Japan Korean religious leaders Korean women poets South Korean Methodists Korean novelists Korean fantasy writers Mythopoeic writers Korean revolutionaries Korean writers Korean educators Korean scholars 20th-century Korean women South Korean feminists South Korean journalists South Korean women journalists Korean anti-communists Teachers College, Columbia University alumni Ohio Wesleyan University alumni 20th-century Korean poets 20th-century novelists 20th-century women writers 20th-century journalists Women government ministers of South Korea Members of the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Korea Presidents of universities and colleges in South Korea