Alumna Young-hee Lee, Gayageum Master, Pledges to Donate KRW 5 Billion of Real Estate to Ewha New Era Fund
- Date2025.12.01
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Ewha Womans University will receive KRW 5 billion for the Ewha New Era Fund from Young-hee Lee (Sociology, graduating class of 1962), one of Korea’s national intangible heritages as a Master of Gayageum Sanjo and Byeongchang (Free-style Gayageum Solo Music and Singing).
This donation will serve as a solid foundation for sustainable growth and future development under the university’s current slogan, “Ewha Leading the Era of Great Transformation through Inclusive Innovation.”
Young-hee Lee, who graduated from the Department of Sociology in 1962, began her career as a traditional musician by studying Gayageum Sanjo with Master Kim Yun-deok. Since being designated as a master of the Gayageum Sanjo and Byeongchang national intangible heritage in 1991, she has dedicated herself to sustaining and developing Korean music and passing down traditional culture. Lee also served on the faculty at the National High School of Traditional Korean Arts and as president of the Korean Traditional Music Association as part of her efforts to train the next generation and propagate Korean traditional music at home and abroad. In recognition of Lee’s contributions, Ewha granted her the 23rd Pride of Ewha Award at a ceremony commemorating its 139th anniversary last May.
(Right photo, from left) Yun Jung Choi, Ewha Vice President for University Relations and Development; Jhungsoo Park, Executive Vice President for Research and External Affairs;
Ewha President Hyang-Sook Lee; Gayageum Master Young-hee Lee; Eun-Ah Kwak, Dean of the College of Music; and Eunyoung Park, Associate Vice President for University Relations and Development
The donation pledge ceremony was held in the reception room at Pfeiffer Hall on September 9. The ceremony was attended by Ewha President Hyang-Sook Lee, who expressed her gratitude to Master Young-hee Lee for her meaningful donation. Also in attendance were Jhungsoo Park, Ewha’s Executive Vice President for Research and External Affairs; Eun-Ah Kwak, Dean of the College of Music; Yun Jung Choi, Vice President for University Relations and Development; and Eunyoung Park, Associate Vice President for University Relations and Development. Last August, Master Lee visited Ewha to discuss the donation with President Lee and Dean Kwak and to tour the College of Music building and other parts of campus.
“I’m grateful for the opportunity to remember the university that nurtured me,” remarked Master Lee. “I decided to donate to Ewha with the hope that its Department of Korean Music, its students, and the university as a whole will continue to thrive.” She added that she would proceed with the donation after completing arrangements for the land in her possession.
President Lee expressed her gratitude at the ceremony, stating, “The donation by Master Young-hee Lee, who has carried on Korea’s traditional culture and dedicated herself to its promotion, represents a priceless act of sharing that connects the arts with education.” She added that “Ewha will carry on this alumna’s spirit of striving to develop traditional arts and cultivate talented practitioners.”