John Baptist Y was one of the 103 Korean Martyrs

Korean Martyrs

The Korean Martyrs were the victims of religious persecution against the Catholic Church during the 19th century in Korea. At least 8,000 adherents to the faith were known to have been killed during this persecution, 103 of whom were canonized en masse in 1984.-History:Catholicism had entered...

. John embraced Roman Catholicism with his elder brother when he was 28 years old. His fervor attracted the attention of the catechists, who sent him to Beijing

Beijing

Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...

 to negotiate affairs of religion. The priests of the capital, in admiration of his piety, conferred upon him baptism

Baptism

In Christianity, baptism is for the majority the rite of admission , almost invariably with the use of water, into the Christian Church generally and also membership of a particular church tradition...

 and the other sacraments. John Baptist, after his return to his country, abstained from flesh meat during the rest of his life, and made resolution to live in celibacy

Celibacy

Celibacy is a personal commitment to avoiding sexual relations, in particular a vow from marriage. Typically celibacy involves avoiding all romantic relationships of any kind. An individual may choose celibacy for religious reasons, such as is the case for priests in some religions, for reasons of...

. He was noted for his holy exterior appearance. He was martyred at the age of 39, severely tortured with torturing instruments and at last beheaded with an axe.