[2] Lee O-young was born on 15 January 1934,[3][4] (other sources say 29 December 1933)[1] in Asan, Chūseinan-dō, Korea, Empire of Japan.

[3] Lee went to Buyeo High School and Seoul National University from which he received undergraduate (1956) and graduate (1959) degrees in Korean literature.

Lee has been the chief editor of Munhak sasang (Literary Thought) and the Korean Minister of Culture.

Making his mark with his first piece of literary criticism, "Lee Sang non" ("On Lee Sang", 1955), he caused a stir in literary circles with his next essay, "Usang eui pagoe" ("Destruction of an Idol"), published in Hankook Ilbo in 1956.

At a time when the war experience seemed to have devastated the literary imagination as well, Lee argued for the expansion and enrichment of Korean literature in articles that featured considerable rhetorical sophistication and verve.