About the Author

David A. Mason recently retired from two decades as a Professor of Korean Cultural Tourism at Seoul’s KyungHee & Sejong Universities, and is a longtime researcher on the deep religious characteristics of Korea's mountains.   Prior to this, he served as a consultant for the national Ministry of Culture and Tourism for 5 years, and as professor of English out in the Korean countryside for many years.  He is now a top-level tour-guide and public-speaker, based in Seoul.

A native of the USA, he has been living in South Korea for 40 years now, always following his passionate interest in hiking Korea’s beautiful mountains and visiting their historic spiritual sites.  He has proudly been a leading member of the Royal Asiatic Society – Korea Branch for four decades, and was appointed the national Honorary Ambassador of the Baekdu-daegan Korean Mountains in 2011.

 Mason earned a Masters' Degree in the History of Korean Religions from Yonsei University in 1997.  He has authored and edited ten books on Korean culture and sacred-sites tourism, including Spirit of the Mountains about Korea's traditions of sacred mountains, the English Encyclopedia of Korean Buddhism, and Solitary Sage: The Profound Life, Wisdom and Legacy of Korea’s ‘Go-un’ Choi Chi-won, and now Korean Dragons.   He published many articles in academic journals and popular magazines, and has frequently been interviewed on various media.  His popular website on sacred Korean mountains and mountain-spirit traditions can be found at www.sanshinseon.com

See also: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_A._Mason