Ewha Womans University (Korean: 이화여자대학교, Hanja: 梨花女子大學校) is a private women's university in central Seoul, South Korea. It is one of the city's largest institutions of higher learning and presently the world's largest female educational institute. It is one of the best-known universities in South Korea, and often considered to be the top women's university there. Ewha was founded in 1886 by the American Methodist Episcopal missionary Mary F. Scranton. "Ewha" is a Sino-Korean term for "pear blossom". While the use of "Womans" is unconventional, it has a special meaning. The early founders of college thought that every woman in this community is worth being respected. So they chose the word "woman" avoiding lumping students together under the word "women." Putting the additional "s", they completed the meaning of plural. Ewha Womans University traces its roots back to Mary F. Scranton's Ihwa Hakdang (also Ewha Hakdang; 이화학당 梨花學堂) mission school for girls, which opened with only one student on May 31, 1886 (Lee, 2001). The name, which means “Pear blossom academy”, was bestowed by the Emperor Gojong the following year.