He became a monk at 15 in Unheungsa located in Nampyeong, Naju. It is said that he learned painting from Sochi Heoryeon, the most renowned painter at the time and was very good at drawing altar portraits of Buddha. He was a deeply spiritual man who was able to transcend religious differences, and maintain relationships with the great scholars of the time, including Dasan Jeong Yak Yong and Chusa Kim Jung Hee.

He built Iljiam behind Daeheungsa at 39 and wrote Chouiseon(艸衣禪), Dongdasong(東茶頌) and Dasinjeon(茶神專).

He came back to his hometown at 58(1843) and found his house demolished and his parents' graves unattended. He felt extreme sadness and wrote a poem called Gwigohyang(歸故鄕).

He died at the age of 81 in 1866.