Catholic saint biography

St. Magdalene Yi Yong-hui

Lived:
d. 1839 — Korea

A Catholic liturgical calendar date has not yet been verified for this entry. Execution dates are not treated as feast days; a shared celebration requires a scoped calendar citation.

Read the sources for this biography
AI-generated artistic interpretation of Saint Magdalene Yi Yong-hui
AI-generated illustration · Artistic interpretation by Saint Discovery.

Biography

Magdalene Yi Yong-hui belonged to a family in which her mother, sister and aunt practiced Catholicism despite her father's opposition. When he arranged a marriage she did not want, she left home and found refuge with her aunt, Theresa Yi Mae-im, in Seoul. Her father eventually accepted her decision to remain there.

During the persecution Magdalene and three other Catholic women surrendered to the authorities. She was executed in Seoul in July 1839. Her mother Magdalene Ho Kye-im and sister Barbara Yi Chong-hui were also martyred, but each is identified separately in the Korean bishops' collection.

From the Saint Discovery blog

Keep exploring your faith

Browse all articles

Practical guides to prayer, the saints, and living the Catholic faith.

From reading to reflection

What will you carry with you?

After reading about St. Magdalene Yi Yong-hui, take a moment to consider:

  1. Which event or decision in this life stood out to you?
  2. What virtue would you like to understand or practice more deeply?
  3. What small action could you take today in response?

These are reflection prompts from Saint Discovery, not quotations from the saint.

Sources and further reading

Biography source comparison recorded on . This is an AI-assisted comparison, not independent human or ecclesiastical approval.

What the recorded review covers

Individual Catholic institutional source review; original concise factual summary. Compared canonical and source name variants, family relationships and death details against 486 legacy records and all 21 prior additions (447 published records). CBCK individual 22 is a distinct person, not either existing Korean saint Andrew Kim Tae-gon or Paul Chong Ha-sang.

A source list helps you check an account; it does not establish that every claim is certain. Follow the biography’s qualifications about historical evidence, traditions and feast calendars.

Suggest a correction to this biography

How we research these pages and handle corrections · Directory corrections log

Take the Saint QuizBrowse All Saints