When young, he was inspired by his father, a professor of Korean Language and Literature at Kyungpook National University, to become a novelist one day.
[1] His pen name, Yi In-hwa, is a character from Korean classical novel writer Yom Sang-seop's work, Before the Cries of 'Manse' (1922).
Yi first started his career in 1995 as Korean Literature Professor at Ewha Womans University in central Seoul before getting his Ph.D. After spending 10 years in the department of Korean Literature, he changed his concentration to digital storytelling, becoming professor of Division of Digital Media at Ewha Womans University.
As can be deduced from its title which is taken from King Lear, Who Is It That Can Tell Me Who I Am (1992) depicts the madness of 1980s Korea and questions whether anyone was able to find his true self in that era.
Recently, he is depicted as a rather progressive figure because of his ardent opposition to Korean ruling Saenuri Party's online game regulation act.
Everlasting Empire (1993), modeled after Umberto Eco’s The Name of the Rose, borrows elements of a detective novel in tracing the mystery surrounding the death of Prince Sado and his son King Jeongjo.
An entertaining novel with potential for mass appeal, Everlasting Empire was also embroiled in much controversy due to the author's over-interpretation of history and the conservative statements he made.