| Hangul: | 박제가 |
| Rr: | Bak Jega |
| Mr: | Pak Cheka |
| Hangulho: | 초정 |
| Rrho: | Chojeong |
| Mrho: | Ch'ojŏng |
Bak Jega (; 1750 - 1805) was a Korean philosopher. He was of the school of Practical learning (Silhak) in the late Joseon Dynasty.[1] He was a student of Bak Jiwon.
Bak Jega was a famous Silhak scholar in the late Joseon Dynasty. He was a student of another famous Silhak scholar, Park Jiwon. Bak Jega was born in 1750 and died in 1815. Bak Jega went to Qing (also referred to as "Ching"), which was the name of China at that time, after becoming a student of Bak Jiwon. He learned about China’s modern culture, advanced techniques, and its economic system while there. After returning from Qing, Bak Jiwon worked in Jiphyeonjeon, a place where important scholars and scientists worked, during the time of King Jeongjo.
Because the Joseon government supported ‘Yuhak', a neo-Confucianist conservative ideology, Bak Jega had an important role and his desire was to make Joseon rich in science and commerce.
He authored several books; the compilation is titled, Jeongyungyp. He wrote about making the commerce system stronger in Umyoungnomchogo and Gunyeonjib. At that time, it was quite shocking to believe in Silhak, whose ideas opposed Yuhak.
Bak Jega developed the way of agriculture, and he also enhanced some of the farming machinery to cultivate plants.
He argued that using the cart to develop local commerce and at the same time develop strong ships to actively enter foreign trade in his book,