Haejun Lee graduated from the College of Education of Gongju University with a history education major, earned a master’s degree from the Graduate School of Seoul University, and obtained a doctorate at the Graduate School of Kookmin University. Since 1994, Lee has been a professor at Mokpo University and has taught history as a professor in the Department of History of Gongju University. Lee has served as the chairman of the Korea Historical Folklore Institute, the head of the department of history publication at the National Institute of Korean History, the president of the Korean Society for Local History and Culture, the president of the Korea Seowon Society, and a cultural heritage committee member for the Cultural Heritage Administration.

  Lee has published History of Village Society in the Joseon Dynasty (1996), Regional History and Theory of Regional Culture (2001), Studies on Family Seowon in the Late Joseon Dynasty (2008), and Traditional Culture and Living Culture (2011).