Biography
Andrew Chong Hwa-gyong
About Andrew Chong Hwa-gyong
Andrew Chong Hwa-gyong was born in 1807 to a Catholic family in Jeongsan, Chungcheong Province. He left home for Yanggan near Suwon, donated land to the Church and became a catechist. He organized a Catholic gathering place and traveled to Seoul to maintain contact with church leaders.
During the persecution of 1839, Andrew helped provide Bishop Laurence Imbert with a hiding place. According to the encyclopedia, Kim Sun-seong persuaded Andrew that the authorities would welcome Catholicism and that he carried a message from Paul Chong Ha-sang. Andrew took him to the bishop’s refuge. Imbert recognized the deception and subsequently gave himself up to the police.
The bishops’ conference account records a further attempt by police to use Andrew to find Maubant and Chastan. Andrew eventually recognized what was happening, refused to disclose the priests’ location and went to warn them. He acknowledged his wrongdoing in confession.
After his arrest, Andrew refused demands to renounce Catholicism despite severe punishment. He was strangled in Seoul on January 23, 1840.
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