One of the Six Living Martyred Ministers who kept his fidelity to King Danjong
| Life | 1420 ~ 1489 |
| Era | 조선 |
| Clan | 함안 조씨 |
Jo Ryeo, whose courtesy name was Juong and pen name Eogye, passed the jinsa examination in 1453 and studied at the National Confucian Academy.
When Sejo usurped the throne in 1455, Jo renounced office and retired to his hometown of Haman, living in reclusion beneath a hill that later generations came to call Mt. Baegi, in order to preserve his loyalty to the deposed King Danjong. For this he is counted, along with Kim Si-seup and Won Ho, among the Six Living Martyrs who refused to serve the usurper.
Under King Sukjong he was posthumously granted the post of Minister of Personnel and the title Jeongjeol, and was enshrined at Seosan Seowon in Haman. His tomb lies in Gangju-ri, Beopsu-myeon, Haman County, alongside those of his wife of the Heungyang Yi clan and his great-grandson Jo Jeong-hwa and his wife. His writings survive in the collected work Eogyejip.
A leading figure of the Haman Jo clan; his descendant, the painter Jo Yeong-seok, compiled and transmitted the collected works Eogye jip.