lee hyeonggi was born january 6, 1933 in jinju gyeongsangnam-do, korea. lee attended dongguk university, at the base of namsan, from which he earned a b.a. in buddhism in 1956. lee worked as a reporter for the united press, seoul shinmun, daehan ilbo, and as editor in chief and editorial writer for the kukje shinmun. lee was also a professor of korean at dongguk university.