studied East Asian languages and history, initially at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi and subsequently at Peking University, Beijing and Seoul National University, Seoul where he completed M.A. in Korean history. He received his Ph.D. degree in East Asian history from the Australian National University, Canberra. He taught courses in Korean language, history and culture for approximately two decades at several universities in Europe and Australia, including the University of Copenhagen and the University of Sydney. Subsequently he worked as Professor and Dean of the Faculty of International Korean Studies, the Academy of Korean Studies, South Korea (2009-2014) and Professor and Dean, School of Historical Studies, Nalanda University, Rajgir (India). His teaching and research interests include history of Buddhist culture in East Asia and inter-Asian connections.
