If I had a thousand lives to give, Korea should have them all?(Rubye Rachael Kendrick 1883-1908). Many epitaphs of this kind can be found in the Foreigner? Cemetery in Yanghwajin, the place where a total of 555 foreigners are resting in peace.
The Foreigner? Cemetery in Yanghwajin might be unfamiliar with Ewha students, but many will nod their heads if we say it? where Mary Scranton, the founder of Ewha Haktang, lies buried.
Standing in front of the tombs, every single gravestone seems to have a story to tell. Shin Ho-chul (71) who has been guiding visitors around the cemetery for the past ten years, pauses in front of Mary Scranton? tomb and tells visitors that while many missionaries went out on missions in their twenties, Scranton began at the age of 52. ?ot only did she establish Ewha, she also made a big contribution to binding the community for missionaries in Korea,?notes Shin. Proceeding to Alice Appenzeller? tomb, the sixth president of Ewha Haktang, Shin explains that Alice was the first foreigner to be born on Korean soil.
A great deal of history and stories can be learned at the cemetery, as there were many missionaries who introduced soccer, orchestra, practical education, and plenty more to our ancestors. ?his is Homer Hulbert who acted as Korea? diplomat in the early 1900s,?Shin says. ?osephine Paine, Ewha Haktang? third president established a physical education class in the curriculum. It was considered radical in those times,?he adds.
Yanghwajin is an often visited site to trace Ewha? history. In commemoration of the school? 120th anniversary, Ewha erected a block to honor the memory of five significant teachers of Ewha, Mary Scranton, Rosetta Sherwood Hall, Josephine Paine, Mary Hillman, and Alice Appenzeller. The seeds of devotion and sacrifice planted some 120 years ago seem to have blossomed into big trees, which still continue to blossom.