His art name was Dongam (동암; 東庵) and his courtesy name was Jajung (자정; 子正).
Yun was born in Dunpo, in Asan County, South Chungcheong Province, Joseon.
While working as a state official in 1894, he became involved with the failed Gapsin Coup, for which he was exiled to Japan.
In Japan, Yun taught Korean at the Tokyo International School.
He was recalled to Japan by an ambassadorial attache of the Privy Council of Korea in 1897 and went on to become a member of the Munkwanjungoso Committee, Director of Parents of the Ministry of Education, Japan Student Director, and in 1907, Chairman of the Institute of Hangul.