He was born in Gimpo, Gyeonggi-do (currently Seo-gu, Incheon), and graduated from Kyung Hee University in Korean Literature.
He began his literary career in 1982 while still a university student by publishing Uri saldeon yetjib jibung (우리 살던 옛집 지붕 Our Old Home's Roof) on the 4th issue of Siundong.
He has published poetry collections, Ne jeojeun gudu beoseo hae-ege boyeojul ttae(내 젖은 구두 벗어 해에게 보여줄 때 When I Take Off My Wet Shoe and Show It to the Sun), ‘Sanchaeksipyeon’, Maeumui oji (마음의 오지 The Backwoods of the Mind), and essay collections Babbeun geosi ge-eureun geosida (바쁜 것이 게으른 것이다 Busy is Lazy), Naega mannan siwa si-in (내가 만난 시와 시인 The Poems and Poets I’ve Met).
Previously he worked as an adjunct professor in creative writing at Chugye University for the Arts, and as a news director at Sisa journal.
[2] Lee is a poet who drew an image of young souls adrift in the real world, with flexible poetic imagination.
[3] Meanwhile, after Maeumui oji (마음의 오지 The Backwoods of the Mind), his poetry has been praised as expressing environmental imagination.