After studying history at Sogang University, he received his M.A. and Ph.D. in art history at Dongguk University. Since 1991, he has been working and gaining expertise in Korean paintings at the Kansong Art Museum, as well as lecturing and writing on the topic. Presently, he is the assistant director of the Daegu Kansong Art Museum and teaches Korean and Asian art at Dongguk University and Ewha Womans University. His books include Korean Bamboo Paintings in Ink, and he co-authored Chusa and His Time and The Culture of True-View Landscape Paintings. His academic publications include “Taneun Yi Jeong,” “Literati Paintings in Ink during the Mid-Joseon Dynasty,” “Taoist and Buddhist Figure Paintings of the Joseon Dynasty,” and “The Historicity of Samcheongcheop.”​