Elizabeth Blackwell
93% Profile Match
Jeong In-ho, illustration in Chodeung Daehan yeoksa (1908); digitised by History Net, National Institute of Korean History · Printed illustration of Jeong Yak-yong in 'Chodeung Daehan yeoksa' (Elementary Korean History, 1908), vol. 4, drawn by Jeong In-ho, as digitised by History Net of the National Institute of Korean History, which states free-use terms (including commercial use) for its national history textbooks collection. A stylised later depiction, not a portrait from life. Published in 1908, so public domain in the United States on age grounds. Original file 300 x 359 pixels, used as is; no upscaling. · Public domain (published in 1908); host institution states free use
Trait Constellation
Key Achievements
A scholar of late Joseon practical learning (Silhak), he wrote on governance, law and the Confucian classics, and his writings were gathered posthumously as the Yeoyudang jeonseo, 154 volumes in 76 books published in 1934-1938.
In exile at Gangjin after 1801 he completed the Mongmin simseo in 1818, a 48-chapter manual for local officials, and his Gyeongse yupyo proposed reforms including a state office to bring in technology.
As an official under King Jeongjo he took part in designing the pontoon bridge over the Han River (1789) and the Hwaseong fortress works (1792), and devised the geojunggi crane, though a historian notes only one unit is recorded in use.
Moments That Reveal Them
In designing the geojunggi he drew on the imported Gigi doseol but cut the iron and copper needed and dropped inessential provisions, concentrating on the basic principle.
This is consistent with adapting an outside design to local materials and needs. Resourcefulness
He completed the Mongmin simseo in 1818 in Gangjin, a 48-chapter, 16-volume guide to local administration drawing on his own earlier posts.
This is consistent with sustained, detailed writing aimed at practical use. Persistence
Turning Points
After the 1801 persecution he spent 18 years in exile, 11 of them at the Dasan Chodang in Gangjin, where much of his writing on governance and the classics was produced.
This is consistent with a shift from official service to sustained scholarly writing. Persistence
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Sources
- Jeong Yak-yong (Q256246), verified live via the Wikidata API (2026-10-30): label 'Jeong Yak-yong', description 'Korean scholar and philosopher (1762 - 1836)', born 1762, died 1836, Korean label present. Orientation only; not used as support for any row.
- Wikipedia, 'Jeong Yak-yong', fetched for orientation (names, dates, main works). Orientation only; never counted as a source for any row.
- Academy of Korean Studies, Encyclopedia of Korean Culture, entry on the Yeoyudang jeonseo (written 1995 by Yi Eul-ho; last revised 2025), read: describes the collected works of the practical-learning scholar Jeong Yak-yong, 154 volumes in 76 books, issued 1934-1938 in seven collections (poetry and prose, classics, rites, music, governance and law, geography, medicine), and lists his memorials to King Jeongjo as groundwork for the Gyeongse yupyo. CANONICAL SIGNIFICANCE SOURCE: national academy's reference entry. A single-author scholarly entry that presents him favourably.
- Academy of Korean Studies, Encyclopedia of Korean Culture, entry 'Gangjin Jeong Yak-yong yujeok' (the Dasan Chodang site in Gangjin; written 1995, revised 2025), read: says he spent 11 of his 18 years of exile at the Dasan Chodang, where he wrote extensively on governance, and that the site was designated a historic site in 1963. Short; the building is a 1958 reconstruction.
- LTI Korea Digital Library of Korean Literature, 'Mongminsimseo' (Admonitions on Governing the People) entry, read: the institute's description says he wrote the book in exile at Gangjin and completed it in 1818 (48 chapters in 16 volumes), that it reflects his own experience as a secret inspector, post-station and county official, and its twelve sections. Public cultural-agency description; admiring in tone.
- Song Seong-su (Pusan National University), 'Dasan Jeong Yak-yong was a master of convergence who loved technology', Daum News syndication of a newspaper column (30 October 2023), read in full: a historian-of-technology column on the pontoon bridge of 1789, the 1792 fortress design report, the geojunggi crane, the multipurpose Yuhyeonggeo cart and the proposed state institute for technology; it also says the crane and the pulley hoist probably contributed little to the Hwaseong works since only one geojunggi and two nokro are recorded. The main independent, partly critical source on the engineering.
- Young-Chan Ro, review of 'The Analects of Dasan, Volume 1: A Korean Syncretic Reading' by Hongkyung Kim, Acta Koreana 20(2), December 2017, read (Project MUSE excerpt): calls him arguably the most prolific writer of late Joseon, describes the 18 years of exile in Gangjin, his syncretic method and the recent scholarly shift away from fitting him only into anti-Neo-Confucian or practical-learning labels. Scholarly review; only the visible part was read.
- Dobin Choi, review of 'The Analects of Dasan, Volume 1', Philosophy East and West 68(1), January 2018, pp. 1-4, read (Project MUSE excerpt): summarises his career, exile of 1801-1818, and the two pillars of his fame (reform writing culminating in the Mongmin simseo; his commentary on the Analects completed in 1813 as a philosophical critique of mainstream Neo-Confucianism). Scholarly review; only the excerpt was read.
- Gyeonggi Ilbo, 'Namyangju Jeong Yak-yong historic site' (26 May 2020), read in full: a regional newspaper feature on his birthplace and memorial museum; says most of his roughly 500 volumes were written in exile and that he taught disciples there and had them take part in the writing. Popular regional feature that also repeats an unsourced claim about the crane saving funds, which is not used.