Yun Dong-ju was the eldest son among the four children of his father Yun Yeong-seok and his mother Kim Yong.
He had been writing poetry from time to time, and chose 19 poems to publish in a collection he intended to call "Sky, Wind, Star, and Poem" (하늘과 바람과 별과 시),[REF] but he was unable to get it published.