Lee Seung-Woo was born in Jangheung, Jeollanam-do in 1959 and debuted as a writer with “A Portrait of Erysichton” in 1981. He has published collections of short stories including Mr. Koo Pyeongmok’s Cockroach, On a Solar Eclipse, A Speculation on a Labyrinth, Magnolia Park, People Don’t Even Know What’s in Their Homes, and An Old Diary. He also wrote the novels A Portrait of Erysichton, Who Else Is in Me, The Private Lives of Plants, The Reverse Side of Life, Wherever That Is, The Gaze of Midday, Songs of Earth, and The Life of Love.

His works explore serious and theoretical themes, such as the existential struggles of humanity, the reconciliation of the sacred and the secular, and the eternal disparity between the transcendent being and mankind. Simultaneously, Lee transcends the abstract nature of these themes with precise deions of his characters’ inner state and his elegant style, broadening his focus to encompass the ontology of literature and art.

His works have been warmly embraced both domestically and internationally, with The Private Lives of Plants and Wherever That Is published in the French Gallimard Folio series. Lee is an active voice among South Korea’s prominent writers. Lee received awards including the Daesan Literary Award, the Hwang Sun-won Literary Award, and the Dongin Literary Award, and many of his books have been translated into German, French and Japanese.​