Kim Il-kwang was born in the city of Pohang and now lives in the town of Homigok at the very end of the eastern part of Korean peninsula. He made his debut as a writer when his story was selected in the New Writers Contest sponsored by Daily Newspaper in 1987. For the past forty years, he has been working as an elementary school teacher and writing stories for young readers. He has written Doctor Lee Gyujun, The Last Military Horse of Joseon, Gray Whale, and excerpts from his novels have been included in elementary school textbooks.