The Faces of Gwangju: Activists 》 Kim Pil-rye: Leader of Modern Women's Education in Gwangju

Story

Kim Pil-rye (1891-1983), a native of Gwangju, was a renowned leader and activist for women's associations and education in Korea.
After graduating in 1907 from the Yeondong Girls' School in Seoul, established by Western missionaries, she became the first woman in Korean history to be sent by the government as an exchange student. She went to Japan from 1913 to 1916. There, she became familiar with the YWCA. Upon her return to Korea, she led the foundation of the Gwangju YWCA in 1922, at the same time at the Korean YWCA was formed.
She later received her bachelor's and master's degrees in 1926 from Agnes Scott College in Georgia and 1927 from Columbia University in New York.
Returning to Korea, in 1927, she founded the pro-independence women's organizations, Geunuhoe, which was a sister organization to the Singahoe. She also founded other and several girls' schools.
She served as principal of Speer Memorial Girls' School until 1937, which was closed by the next principal Florence Root in protest of being forced to worship at Shinto shrines.
During her life, she was imprisoned several times for participating in the 1919 March First Independence Movement and for refusing to worship at the Shinto shrines.
After Korea's liberation in 1945, she and her former student Jo A-ra reopened Speer Girls' School and continued working at the YWCA, which was rebuilt in 1947.

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S2023-217g	Story	Episode		Kim Pil-rye: Leader of Modern Women's Education in Gwangju			Kim Pil-rye: Leader of Modern Women's Education in Gwangju	http://dh.aks.ac.kr/~gwangju/wiki/index.php/S2023-217g	http://dh.aks.ac.kr/~gwangju/icon/episode.png