本文将以基督教会在韩国进行的与妇女有关的教育活动作为研究对象，论述伴随基督教在朝鲜半岛传播而出现的女子学校教育的产生及发展过程，及作为其结果之一出现的女性组织和妇女运动对处于历史变革时期的韩国社会的影响。本文将采用文献资料与逻辑分析相统一的方法，通过对资料的搜集与梳理，勾勒韩国基督教女子教育事业的概况。同时，采用宗教社会学的研究方法，将表象性的描述研究和实质性的解释研究相结合，解读基督教会为了发展传教事业而在韩国女子教育领域所做的努力和成就，及由此而体现出来的东西方文化的碰撞与交融。作为传统的东方社会，韩国在儒家学说和佛道教思想的影响下形成了自己的女性观。传统的社会角色将韩国女性束缚于眷属地位，她们在久远的传统社会伦理体系中屈从于父权制权威，遭受性别压抑、丧失自我意识，一直存在于社会的底层和历史的边缘。作为男性附属品的韩国女性被排斥在正规的学制之外，无权接受学校教育。她们所能接受的教育局限于家庭之内，正是这种传统的女子教育使女性作为社会次等性别群体所遭受的压迫与摧残变得合理化。但当韩国进入近代社会之后，随着传教士抵达朝鲜半岛，这种情况有了急剧的转变。为推进传教事业的发展和受男女平等观念的驱动，传教士试图通过开办女子教育机构来改善韩国妇女的社会地位。作为传教事业的伴生物，教会女子学校的创办推动了近代韩国女子教育的产生，加速了韩国教育体制的近代化。为了融入韩国社会，早期女子学校的教育理念和课程设置不可避免地保留了一些封建主义色彩，但“贤妻良母”目标之外的西方先进自然和社会科学知识的传授冲击和动摇着韩国女性的旧有观念，引导她们发现自我、认识到自身价值，并参与到社会生活中去。女性基础教育的发展与完善使女子高等教育在韩国的出现成为必然结果，它的产生和发展是近代韩国社会变革的产物。基督教会又开女子高等教育之先河，冲击并瓦解着残余的种种抑制女子才智的陈规陋习和传统观念。高层次的教育使韩国妇女在父权制的异化中获得解放、成为完整的人及消除这种异化成为可能，激活了一股新生的力量反过来推动社会的变革。在教会女子学校教育的影响下，韩国的女性组织和妇女解放运动取得了令人瞩目的成绩。通过国家立法保障女性与男性获得平等的权利，同时，社会主导观念对女性实现社会价值和自我价值取得一致认同，女性角色实现了从单一的家庭角色向社会角色的转换。本文认为，基督教通过教会女子教育事业对韩国妇女的觉醒起了不可忽视的作用，为她们开启了一扇通往世界的门，使她们重新发现自我、争取自身权利并探索一种并非由他人来决定的生活。近代以来韩国女子学校教育经历的百年历史，也是韩国女性角色由“贤妻良母”到社会一员转变的百年历史。韩国女性开始在社会中崭露头角，展示自己的价值，成为社会发展史中重要的一部分。韩国女性由此获得了新生，成为独立的社会群体。

This thesis is concerning the Christian church and its educational work with Korean women. The Korean society of the 19th century was devastatingly patriarchal. Women’s self-realization only seemed to be achieved by self-denial and self-sacrifice for the interests of the family. Confined by their gender, Korean women dared not challenge the deeply rooted patriarchal authority and were inured to a life of endurance and suffering. Under patriarchy, women existed simply as servants to men, and the value of their work was not recognized by society. Under such circumstances, women led extremely difficult and isolated lives, yet no one paid attention to the rights of women as human beings. Even they were excluded from the education system. Due to the diffusion of Christianity across the cultural boundaries, missionaries began to take interest in reforming the status and education of Korean women. By the end of the 19th century, Christian girl’s schools, run by missionaries, were founded in major cities in Korea, for the sake of mission and “The principle of gender equality”. The missionaries started with caution in setting up goals for the education for women, emphasizing traditional womanhood centered on domesticity, which would be readily acceptable according to Korean customs. However, the educational ideal of these schools was to free oppressed Korean women through the Christian faith to allow them to lead fulfilling lives as human beings. In the terms of education Korean women have recovered their human authority autonomy as a creation that was created equally as men in the image of God. Moreover, women’s education initiated by mission schools guided women to obtain professional knowledge in becoming independent as a member of the society. The opportunity of this type of education meant the first step toward entering the realm of public activity for Korean women. They attempted to change traditional feminine roles through taking advantage of a Christian education. For them, the educational opportunity was an important means of transforming social status of women. Christianity and educational opportunity formed the impetus of realizing the potential of women to learn, teach, and became professionals, just like Korean men could. The idea of higher education for women in Korea came along with other socio-cultural changes in the early twenties century. Since women’s school education has been well developed, this was at a time when the Korean society was in dire need for college taught for women. In fact, college education was the next natural step forward. The history of higher education offered by Christian church for Korean women was a continued endeavor to promote women’s self-realization and self-dedication. Higher education for women differs from the elementary and secondary women’s school education of the Chosun period. The contents of this type of education don’t reinforce what women do and have to do. Women’s higher education provides a new vision for them. It was an important preparation for both work and life.Women’s social self-awareness and independence inevitably led them to think about their national identity and made them feel a strong responsibility toward their colonized country. With the leadership of Christian women’s organizations, Christian women’s independence movement was the core of nationalistic women’s independence movement. After Korea was liberated on August 15 1945, their commitment to address women’s issues materialized with the introduction of women’s studies and establishment of some women’s institute, in the spirit of Christianity. It was a more integrated approach that raised the level of discourse on women’s issue which had started from the concept of women’s education and promoted women’s status the world over and realized an equal society. In sum, the change toward modern womanhood in Korea through mission education deserves our attention.