I-hwa Yi

Lee E-Hwa (; August 23, 1937 – March 18, 2020) was a Korean historian. He was the author of more than 100 books and journals. His birthplace was , Daegu, North Gyeongsang province. Lee left his family in 1951 and first settled in an orphanage in Busan, where he was admitted into Hanyoung Middle School's provisional refugee school. He then ran away to an orphanage in Yeosu, ran away again, and finally settled in Gwangju, where he applied and was admitted into Gwangju High School with a forged middle school diploma. Lee graduated from Gwangju High School in 1958 and was admitted into Department of Creative Writing, where he studied with other writers including Cheon Seung-sae and Kim Joo-young.

Career After finding an interest in history, Lee began his career as an autodidact historian in his mid-twenties. He studied Korean history mostly through books, making a living as a chestnut vendor. In 1967, Lee found a temporary job in the Donga Ilbo, where he translated old texts using his knowledge of Classical Chinese. He also wrote translated summaries of old texts in Seoul National University's Kyujanggak Archives. During his career as a translator, Lee wrote history-related articles for several magazines including , , , Monthly Chosun, and .

Works

허균의 생각 [The Thoughts of Heo Gyun] (1980) 조선후기의 정치사상과 사회변화[Political Ideologies and Social Changes of the Late Joseon Dynasty] (1994) 역사풍속기행 [History and Tradition Journals] (1999) 이이화의 동학농민혁명사 [Lee E-Hwa's History of the Donghak Peasant Revolution] (3 volumes, 2020)