Known for such bold, confrontational poetry collections as Seven States of Mind for Observing Rain and Summit Grave, he received the 1988 Korean Poets' Association Prize and the 1991 Kim Suyeong Literary Award, among other honors.
During the 1960s, he studied English-language education at Chung-Ang University in Seoul, South Korea. He published his first poem, "Blackboard," in 1970.
Beginning in the mid-1990s, he headed the Korean Culture and Arts Foundation.
A native of Seoul, South Korea, he graduated from Yangjeong High School.
He was a contemporary of Indian poet Dom Moraes.
