DONGDUK WOMEN’S UNIVERSITY Founding Spirit

In 1908, having realized the importance of educating women to contribute to the self-reliance of our country, the late Dr. Cho Dong-Shik, also known as Choon-Kang, founded Dongwon Girls' School (Eui-sook). This was a time of impending crisis for the nation because Japan was threatening the independence of Korea. The late Dr. Cho believed that the enlightenment of the people through education was a sine qua non for survival in such a situation.

His ardent patriotism, his zeal for re-establishing the independent national power, and his eager passion for education made the late Dr. Cho an ideal cornerstone on which to establish the Dongduk educational foundation. In 1910, Dr. Cho combined Dongwon Girls' Eui-sook and Dongduk, naming it 'Dongduk'. From then on, he devoted his entire life to the improvement of Dongduk and education for women.

This foundation became the cradle of the present Dongduk Women's Educational Foundation with five different levels of education: kindergarten, middle school, high school, university, and graduate school.

Dongduk is proud to have contributed to the nation and its people by educating women who have been leaders of the movement to restore the independence of the nation. It also takes pride in having a capable, active body of graduates, many of whom are in positions of leadership in all walks of life In Korea and abroad.

The late Dr. Cho's philosophy of education, which enlightened the people during those difficult years of trouble, is our university's spirit today. Our task now is not merely to keep what was given to us, but to enhance that inheritance uninterruptedly and thus improve the spirit of education.

Our educational goals have always endeavored to produce informed women with high moral standards because, in every era, effective education requires development of the whole person.

When ethics and morality are deeply corrupted, insistence on human values and the strengthening of morality, which the late Dr. Cho emphasized and practiced, must necessarily be Dongduk's educational goals.

The Dongduk family will endeavor to prepare the way for the new era in which a new nation and history of the Korean people will be brought to fruition.