In 1933, three Methodist missionaries and other friends met with Dr. Alice Appenzeller, the President of Ewha Woman’s College from 1922 to 1939, to organize a Cooperating Committee to help the school. The committee raised funds for the construction of new college buildings, enabling Ewha to move to its new Shinchon campus in March, 1935.

Dr. Helen Kim, who became the first Korean president of Ewha Womans University in 1939, initiated the first 10-year Development Plan in 1966.

During the Korean War (1950 to 1953), the Methodist Board of Missions helped Ewha continue its operation at the refugee campus in Pusan. The Cooperating Committee (predecessor of the International Foundation) contributed greatly in the rehabilitation of damaged campus buildings, expediting the school’s return to Seoul.

Since that time, alumnae and friends have generously supported the development of the university through the International Foundation which was inaugurated in New York on April 15, 1970. The Foundation continues to carry out Dr. Helen Kim’s vision for Ewha’s internationalization.