An architectural historian and architect, the author was born in Seoul in 1961. After graduating from Seoul National University with a degree in Architecture, he received a master's degree from the University of Michigan, and a Ph.D. for the study of architecture during French Enlightenment. He founded the Department of Architecture at Ewha Woman’s University in 1994 and continues to work as the first professor in the department ever since.
In his extensive and in-depth study of architecture, he has published 57 books. With his strong synthesis, sharp analysis, and creativity, he has built a unique academic world by linking and fusing architecture with humanities and art. He has dealt with a wide range of topics across time and space, focusing on his majors, architecture history and architecture theory, and has criticized the modern problems of civilization as well.