Ewha Green, the official color of Ewha Womans University, has long been a symbol of dignity, reflecting the school’s tradition. An official color is meaningful in that it reflects the school’s identity. It is used in various symbolic items, pamphlets, and advertisements as a way to impart a unique image to outsiders. By forming a distinct image, it also contributes to solidifying the school’s status.
Ewha Green has a 100-year-long history. It was first created when Ewha’s fourth president, Lulu E. Frey, chose the green of the pear blossom’s leaf and the white of its flower to symbolize the school’s name as the official colors in 1908. Since then, the color played an important part in protecting the pride of the students. As it increased their sense of belonging, it gradually became an integral part of Ewha’s identity. In 2011, marking the 125th anniversary, the school conducted the ‘Ewha UI Establishment Project’ and standardized the dark green color in order to put an eco-friendly and future-oriented meaning to it.
Students took action by proposing ideas to unify the color of baseball jackets and group purchase items to solidify this color into a part of the school’s tradition. They also actively exchanged opinions about the importance and meaning of Ewha Green on online communities and came up with ways to preserve the color.
For instance, when the wrong RGB of Ewha Green was used on the school website, many students proposed a correction on ‘Ask for Ewha,’ an online bulletin board where members of the school can express their opinions. Eventually, the school responded to the students’ demand and changed the website’s theme color. Since a school’s identity is formed based on first impressions, students also actively uploaded photos of their Ewha Green items on social media. Reflecting students’ opinions, the student council promised to implement ‘Ewha Green Day’ as a cultural policy to instill a sense of school spirit into them.
The school also put efforts to promote Ewha Green to the public. They changed the colors of the graduation gowns, souvenirs, and information pamphlets to Ewha Green as a means to solidify it as the school’s official color. Furthermore, they held the ‘Ewha Green Event’ for students to share pictures of the Ewha Green items they have through Instagram. The school planned this event for students staying indoors due to COVID-19 to maintain their interest in school activities. In addition, they held the Ewha Green Movie Festa and blended the school’s official color with the festival.
Recently, Ewha Color Design Research Institute (ECDRI) conducted a survey concerning the color of Ewha. By applying the color to the school emblem, web page, application, and slogan images, they tried to investigate students’ perceptions. Regarding the result, Park Yung-kyung, the manager of ECDRI, replied that they are expecting an open conclusion.
“By conducting this survey, we want to show that even a color with the same RGB value can be perceived differently depending on the device model, monitor and the letter it is written in,” Park said. “Rather than expecting a certain result of the right color, we hope students understand that Ewha Green can vary slightly according to its usage such as integration with other nearby colors.”
“On the day of the 134th anniversary in late May, we are planning to make a guideline about the standard color that anyone can refer to when they have to use Ewha Green,” she added. “Variations can be made within the standard, but we want to make sure it is used accurately without distortion. Since there is no color that everyone can agree on, we are setting a standard that can be used widely.”