The Korean Women’s Institute (KWI) was founded on 1 March 1977, under the auspices of Ewha Womans University, to serve as a professional research institute dedicated to advancing women’s issues through education, research, and outreach with a vision of creating a gender-equal society.

     In the 1970s, when women’s studies was relatively unknown in Korea, KWI launched a wide range of educational, outreach, and advocacy programs from a feminist perspective with the goal of improving the status of women. 

     KWI was instrumental in creating the first undergraduate course in women’s studies in Korea in September 1977, and the first master’s degree program in women’s studies in March 1982. Since then, KWI has played a leading role in organizing academic exchanges between women’s research institutes in Korea. It initiated the founding of the Korean Association of Women’s Studies (KAWS) in 1984, the first nation-wide academic society for women’s studies. 

      In December 1994, KWI launched a major initiative to globalize and internationalize women’s studies with the goal of making KWI into a world-class institute by the 21st century. The Asian Center for Women’s Studies (ACWS) was established in May 1995 as an umbrella organization of KWI to play a leading role in the development of women’s studies in Asia. 

     KWI launched its own peer-reviewed journal, Yosong’hak-Non’jib (Women’s Studies Review) in 1984 and continues to provide a forum for scholars working on women to publish their works. In addition, KWI has been hosting conferences, workshops, and seminars on a variety of issues such as gender mainstreaming and women’s empowerment.