Jeong Yak-jong (1760 – 8 April 1801), also known as Augustine Chong, was a Korean Catholic martyr who contributed greatly to the spread of Catholicism in Korea. He was the older brother of Jeong Yak-yong and the father of Paul Chong Hasang.


Jeong Yak-jong
Martyr
Born1760
Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province, Joseon
Died8 April 1801 (aged 41)
Souimun, Seoul, Joseon
Venerated inRoman Catholicism
Beatified16 August 2014, Seoul, South Korea by Pope Francis
Feast20 September
Jeong Yak-jong
Hangul
정약종 아우구스티노
Hanja
丁若鍾 아우구스티노
Revised RomanizationJeong Yakjong Auguseutino
McCune–ReischauerChŏng Yakchong Augusŭt'ino

He wrote the first Catholic catechism using only Korean letters so that he could reach out to the common people as well as the nobles who were the only ones in Korean society who could read Chinese characters. He was first converted to Catholicism himself by the Chinese priest Chou Wen-Mu.[1][2]

References

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  1. ^ Biographical Dictionary of Christian Missions. Wm. B. Eerdmans. 1999. ISBN 0802846807.
  2. ^ James T. Bretzke (2001). Bibliography on East Asian Religion and Philosophy. Edwin Mellen Press. ISBN 0773473181.