Who Was Saint Barbara Ch’oe Yŏng-i?

Saints

A young married Korean laywoman martyred in Seoul in early 1840 during the continuing wave of the Kihae persecution.

Saint Barbara Ch’oe Yŏng-i was a married Catholic laywoman of Seoul, Korea, martyred at Dangkogae in February 1840 at only about twenty years of age, during the same persecution that claimed many of her fellow believers.

No known portrait of Saint Barbara Choe Yong I
No portrait or image of Saint Barbara Choe Yong I is known to survive; this icon marks pages without an identifiable image.

Quick Facts

  • Died: February 1, 1840, Dangkogae, Seoul, South Korea (age c. 20)
  • Venerated as: Laywoman and martyr
  • Status: Married

Who Was Saint Barbara Ch’oe Yŏng-i?

Saint Barbara Ch’oe Yŏng-i was a young married Catholic woman in Seoul, put to death at Dangkogae in early 1840 at around twenty years old. Her death came in the closing months of the Kihae persecution, a sustained campaign against Korea’s Catholic community that claimed believers of every age and background.

Historical Setting

The persecution that began in 1839 continued into 1840, as Korean authorities pursued remaining members of underground Catholic communities across the country. Young converts and the newly married were not spared, and many, like Barbara Ch’oe Yŏng-i, faced execution at a very young age.

Why the Church Remembers Saint Barbara Ch’oe Yŏng-i

Barbara Ch’oe Yŏng-i is remembered for the steadfastness of her faith despite her youth, one of many young Korean Catholics whose brief lives ended in martyrdom during this period of intense persecution.

Canonization and Feast Day

No individual canonization record is given in the source. Martyrs of the Kihae persecution of 1839 to 1840 were among those later canonized together as part of the 103 Holy Martyrs of Korea by Pope John Paul II in 1984.

What Catholics Can Learn Today

Barbara Ch’oe Yŏng-i’s death at so young an age is a sober reminder that the cost of faith in this period fell on believers of every age, and that youth was no protection from the severity of the persecution.

A Prayer to Saint Barbara Ch’oe Yŏng-i

Saint Barbara Ch’oe Yŏng-i, young and faithful even to death, pray for young believers everywhere who are tested in their faith. Amen.

Sources

  • Roman Martyrology
  • Acta Apostolicae Sedis on the canonization of the 103 Martyrs of Korea (1984)
  • records of the Catholic Church in Korea