Maria Whang (1865-1937) was a Korean-American educator and community organizer. In 1913, she became the first leader of the Korean Women's Association in the

Territory of Hawaii The Territory of Hawaii or Hawaii Territory ( Hawaiian: ''Panalāʻau o Hawaiʻi'') was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from April 30, 1900, until August 21, 1959, when most of its territory, excluding ...

. Whang was born in

Pyongan Province Pyeong-an Province (, ) was one of Eight Provinces of Korea during the Joseon Dynasty. Pyeong'an was located in the northwest of Korea. The provincial capital was Pyeongyang (now Pyongyang, North Korea). History Pyeong'an Province was formed in ...

, Korea. In 1905, she

emigrated Emigration is the act of leaving a resident country or place of residence with the intent to settle elsewhere (to permanently leave a country). Conversely, immigration describes the movement of people into one country from another (to permanentl ...

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

with her daughter and two sons. When they arrived in Hawaii, she told her son Ok Kang about her escape from her affluent husband who had many mistresses. Whang was a

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...

, and the church assisted her in moving to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. She felt that in Korea she was "not allowed to be anything", and desired the freedom she saw in the United States. She was an early educator of

plantation A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...

children, and she established the Korean Women's Association (''Taehan Puinhoe'') which merged in 1919 with the Korean Ladies Relief Society.

References

Bibliography

* 1865 births 1937 deaths Korean educators People of the Territory of Hawaii Korean feminists Korean Methodists Korean emigrants to the United States American people of Korean descent {{AsianAmerican-stub