[Today's Ewha] March 18, 1903 / Ms. Margaret Edmunds Arrives at Po Goo Nyo Goan N
- Date2025.03.18
- 357
Margaret J. Edmunds responded to the urgent call for a nursing director to train nurses in a small country called Joseon and volunteered as a missionary nurse. In September 1902, Edmunds and her companions set sail for Korea and, after a long journey of six and a half months, arrived in Korea on March 18, 1903.
As the first director of Po Goo Nyo Goan, Korea’s first modern women’s hospital, Edmunds devoted herself to caring for patients. In December 1903, she established Korea’s first nursing education institution, Po Goo Nyo Goan Nursing Training School, marking the beginning of professional nursing education in Korea. She also translated and published Korea’s first nursing textbook, designed the first Korean nursing uniform, and trained Korea’s first nurses, Grace Lee and Martha Kim, thus pioneering the history of nursing education in Korea. Ewha continues the legacy of Ms. Margaret Edmunds' spirit of care, upholding the Christian values of sharing, service, and love.