Controversy continues over 'treacherous' 1st Ewha President

By Lee Kyung-min

A group of students at Ewha Womans University in Seoul set up signs near the statue of its first President Kim Hwal-ran, or Helen Kim, Monday, to spread awareness of what they called "treacherous" remarks under the Japanese occupation.

The students said a continued failure to remove the statue represents the shameful history the country is in the process of eradicating.

"Pro-Japanese activities are a crime that in no way can be justified under any circumstances. Many figures including Kim who committed such acts are still revered on the campuses of many universities," they said.

Kim's controversial remarks included, "We are now able to welcome the overwhelming joy of the long-awaited conscription. We, the women, should send our husbands and sons to the battlefield with a graceful smile."

She justified her words as "necessary in order to keep Ewha open under harsh colonial policies."

Kim spent 40 years at Ewha as an educator, but the statue has come under frequent criticism, for what students say represents the "unilateral school administration." In 1931, she became the first Korean woman to earn a Ph.D., and she founded The Korea Times in 1950.

The school dismissed the students' request that it be removed and a new statue of Yu Gwan-sun (1902-1920) be erected for her efforts to organize the March 1st Movement in 1919 against Japan. Yu died at 18 while in jail.

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