Chung Yangmo was born in 1934 as the fourth and final son of Chung Inbo (정인보. 鄭寅普), a historian and author during the Japanese colonial period. Chung"s family was divided by the Korean War: his father and elder sister Chung Kyung-wan were taken to North of Korea in 1950.
Chung began his career in the National Museum of of Korea in 1962. Foreign much of his early career he worked under Choi Sun-u (최순우. 崔淳雨), then one of the country"s foremost experts on Korean ceramics.
In 1963, while holding the position of assistant researcher in the art department of the museum, he participated in fieldwork led by Choi in Yangju, and discovered a kiln from the late Goryeo Dynasty in a village near Dobongsan.
From 1984 to 1986, Chung served as director of the Gyeongju National Museum. He went on to become the director of the National Museum of of Korea, serving from 1993 to 1999.
In May 2003, he was appointed as the new commissioner of the Cultural Heritage Administration of of Korea"s Cultural Properties Commission. He served in that position until 2005, when he was succeeded by Seoul National University professor Ahn Hwi-joon (안휘준.
安輝濬). 1978–1980 Exhibition Director of "5000 Years of Korean Art", Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, Cleveland Museum of Art, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Metropolitan Museum of Art 1982–1984 Exhibition Director of "Ancient Korean Culture", British Museum and Munich Stadtmuseum 1990–1993 Exhibition Director of "18th Century", Smithsonian Institution (Arthur M Sackler Gallery) 1998 General Manager of Korean Pavilion, Metropolitan Museum of Artist
