Hwang Hee-chan ( ko, 황희찬; born 26 January 1996) is a South Korean professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who plays as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

for

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

club

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...

and the South Korea national team. Hwang is nicknamed the "Bull" (''Hwangso''; Hangul: 황소) in South Korea due to his aggressive playing style. It was a play on his surname as ''hwangso'' was the Korean term for a

bull A bull is an intact (i.e., not castrated) adult male of the species ''Bos taurus'' (cattle). More muscular and aggressive than the females of the same species (i.e., cows), bulls have long been an important symbol in many religions, includin ...

Early life and youth career

Hwang Hee-chan was born in

Chuncheon Chuncheon (; ; formerly romanized as Chunchŏn; literally ''spring river'') is the capital of Gangwon Province in South Korea. The city lies in the north of the county, located in a basin formed by the Soyang River and Han River. There are some ...

, but his family moved to

Bucheon Bucheon () is a administrative divisions of South Korea, city in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. Bucheon is located away from Seoul, of which it is a satellite town, satellite city. It is located between Incheon and Seoul. Bucheon is the second ...

right after his birth. They lived there until he was eleven years old. Hwang started to play football at Singok Elementary School in

Uijeongbu Uijeongbu () is a Administrative divisions of South Korea, city in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. Overview Uijeongbu is located north of the Korean capital Seoul; it lies inside a Defile (geography), defile, with mountains on two sides, and com ...

. In 2008, he scored the most goals in both Hwarangdaegi Tournament and Dongwon Youth Cup, which were South Korean national youth competitions. His strong performance continued in the South Korean national under-12 team. Hwang scored 22 goals in the

Kanga Cup The Kanga Cup is a week-long international youth association football tournament held annually in Canberra, Australia during July. The tournament is run as an open cup consisting of both male and female competitors with teams from diverse backgr ...

, setting a new record of the tournament. With outstanding performances in these competitions, he was awarded the grand prize of the Cha Bum-kun Football Award, given to the best youth footballers in South Korea. After graduating from Singok Elementary School, he entered Pohang Jecheol Middle School and started to play in

Pohang Steelers The Pohang Steelers (Hangul: 포항 스틸러스) are a South Korean professional football club based in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province that compete in the K League 1, the top flight of South Korean football. The Steelers were founded on 1 A ...

under-15 team, the school's affiliated football club. In 2011, his team won the middle school division of the Korean National School League, hosted by

Korea Football Association The Korea Football Association () is the governing body of football and futsal within South Korea. It sanctions professional, semi-professional and amateur football in South Korea. Founded in 1933, the governing body became affiliated with F ...

, and Hwang received the MVP award of the competition. Subsequently, he joined Pohang Jecheol High School and

under-18 team. In the 2013 K League Junior, contested between youth teams of

K League K League (Hangul: K리그) is South Korea's professional football league. It includes first division K League 1 and second division K League 2. History Until the 1970s, South Korean football operated two major football leagues, the National S ...

clubs, he scored 12 goals in 12 games for his team, helping his high school to win the league. Afterwards, in the high school division of the National School League, he once again led Pohang to the title, becoming the MVP in addition to the top scorer.

Club career

Red Bull Salzburg

In December 2014,

intended to sign forward Hwang Hee-chan as a homegrown player, however he opted to sign with Austrian club Red Bull Salzburg. On 3 November 2016, Hwang came off the bench and scored a brace in a

Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It ...

match for Salzburg against Ligue 1 side

Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative c ...

, contributing to his team's first Europa win of the campaign. He failed to score in his first

Austrian Bundesliga The Austrian Football Bundesliga (german: Österreichische Fußball-Bundesliga, italic=no , "Austrian Football Federal League"), also known as Admiral Bundesliga for sponsorship reasons, is the top level of the Austrian football league system. Th ...

season. During the 2017–18 season Salzburg had their best ever European campaign. They finished top of their

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It ...

group for a record fourth time before beating

Real Sociedad Real Sociedad de Fútbol, S.A.D., more commonly referred to as Real Sociedad (; ''Royal Society''), La Real in Spanish, Erreala in Basque, is a Spanish professional sports club in the city of San Sebastián, Basque Country, founded on 7 Septem ...

and

Borussia Dortmund Ballspielverein Borussia 09 e. V. Dortmund, commonly known as Borussia Dortmund (), BVB (), or simply Dortmund (), is a German professional sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is best known for its men's professional footb ...

, thus making their first-ever appearance in the competition's quarter-finals. On 12 April, Hwang scored a goal against

Lazio it, Laziale , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

, leading a 4–1 victory to proceed to the semi-finals. On 3 May 2018, Hwang played in the second away match of the semi-final, when Salzburg defeated

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...

by 1–2 but lost on aggregate 3–2. On 31 August 2018, Hwang joined

Hamburger SV Hamburger Sport-Verein e.V. (), commonly known as Hamburger SV () or Hamburg (), is a German sports club based in Hamburg, with its largest branch being its football section. Though the current HSV was founded in June 1919 from a merger of three ...

on a loan deal until the end of the 2018–19 season. During the 2019–20 season, Hwang drew plaudits alongside Salzburg's attacking players

Erling Haaland Erling Braut Haaland (; born 21 July 2000) is a Norwegian professional footballer who plays as a striker for club Manchester City and the Norway national team. Considered one of the best players in the world, he is known for his speed, stre ...

and

Takumi Minamino is a Japanese professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or winger for Ligue 1 club Monaco and the Japan national team. Minamino began his club career at J.League Division 1 club Cerezo Osaka in 2012 and in his first sea ...

. The trio were particularly praised for their exploits in the Champions League, where Hwang was involved in eight goals by recording three goals and three assists, and winning two penalty kicks. His playing style was described as energetic with accurate passing and an eye for dribbling. In all competitions, Hwang had a remarkable season, scoring 16 goals and providing 22 assists in 40 appearances.

RB Leipzig

On 8 July 2020, Hwang signed for

RB Leipzig RasenBallsport Leipzig e.V. (), commonly known as RB Leipzig, and colloquially referred to as Red Bull Leipzig, is a German professional football club based in Leipzig, Saxony. The club was founded in 2009 by the initiative of the company Red Bu ...

on a five-year contract. On 12 September, he scored a goal and created an assist against

Nürnberg Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ci ...

in the first round of the

2020–21 DFB-Pokal The 2020–21 DFB-Pokal was the 78th season of the annual German football cup competition. Sixty-four teams participated in the competition, including all teams from the previous year's Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga. The competition began on 11 Se ...

, where he made his debut. He helped Leipzig to reach the

2021 DFB-Pokal Final The 2021 DFB-Pokal Final decided the winner of the 2020–21 DFB-Pokal, the 78th season of the annual German football cup competition. The match was played on Thursday, 13 May 2021 (on the Feast of the Ascension, a German public holiday) at the ...

by scoring against

VfL Wolfsburg Verein für Leibesübungen Wolfsburg e. V., commonly known as VfL Wolfsburg () or Wolfsburg, is a German professional sports club based in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony. The club grew out of a multi-sports club for Volkswagen workers in the city of W ...

and

Werder Bremen Sportverein Werder Bremen von 1899 e. V. (), commonly known as Werder Bremen (), Werder or simply Bremen, is a German professional sports club based in Bremen, Bremen (state), Free Hanseatic City of Bremen. Founded on 4 February 1899, they are be ...

, though he was a substitute. However, he failed to score in his first German Bundesliga season.

Wolverhampton Wanderers

On 29 August 2021 Hwang joined

side

on a season long loan. On 11 September, Hwang scored Wolves' second goal away to

Watford Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, a ...

on his debut as a second-half substitute in a 2–0 win. He then got his first goals at Molineux on 2 October, as he scored both goals in Wolves' 2–1 win against

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End ...

, both strikes coming from similarly tight angles. He scored five goals in his debut campaign in the Premier League. On 26 January 2022, the club announced that they had activated a clause in his loan deal that would see him join the club on a permanent deal on 1 July 2022, upon the expiration of his loan, signing a contract until 2026.

International career

In the

2012 AFC U-16 Championship The 2012 AFC U-16 Championship was the 15th edition of the tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation. The AFC approved Iran as hosts of the championship on 23 November 2011.

, South Korea was eliminated in the quarter-finals, but Hwang became the top scorer of the tournament with five goals including a hat-trick against

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...

. Hwang participated in the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...

and scored a goal in a group match against

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, which finished in a 3–3 draw. In a friendly on 28 March 2018, Hwang scored South Korea's second goal against

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

, with the match ending in a 3–2 loss. In the

2018 FIFA World Cup The 2018 FIFA World Cup was the 21st FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national Association football, football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, after the country was awa ...

, Hwang played all three group stage matches for South Korea. He featured in the starting line up in the first two games, both of which were defeats. Hwang participated in the last game against

as a substitute but was then brought off after 20 minutes due to difficulties executing the team's tactics. South Korea finally won a victory in the game, with manager

Shin Tae-yong Shin Tae-yong (, Hanja: 申台龍; born on 11 May 1970) is a South Korean former professional footballer and manager who is currently coaching the Indonesia national football team. He is the first man to win the Asian Club Championship/AFC Cha ...

expressing regret for taking off Hwang. Hwang scored a goal in stoppage time against

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

to secure a 2–1 win, and a place in the Round of 16 of the

2022 FIFA World Cup The 2022 FIFA World Cup is an international association football, football tournament contested by the men's national teams of FIFA's member associations. The 22nd FIFA World Cup is taking place in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022 ...

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list South Korea's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Hwang goal.''

Honours

Red Bull Salzburg *

: 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2019–20 *

Austrian Cup The Austrian Cup (german: ÖFB-Cup), known as UNIQA ÖFB Cup for sponsorship purposes, is an annual football competition held by the Austrian Football Association, the ÖFB. During the 2008–09 season, Austria Wien won the tournament for 27th t ...

: 2015–16, 2016–17, 2019–20 RB Leipzig *

DFB-Pokal The DFB-Pokal ( is a German knockout football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competition, including all clubs from the Bundesliga and the 2. Bundesliga. It is considere ...

runner-up:

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...

South Korea U23 *

Asian Games The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from all over Asia. The Games were regulated by the Asian Games Federation (AGF) from the first Games in New Delhi, India, until t ...

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

AFC U-23 Championship The AFC U-23 Asian Cup, previously the AFC U-22 Championship (in 2013) and AFC U-23 Championship (between 2016 and 2020), is a biennial international football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) for the men's under-23 ...

runner-up:

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

Individual *

AFC U-16 Championship The AFC U-17 Asian Cup, formerly known as the AFC U-16 Championship and AFC U-17 Championship, is a football competition, organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) held once every two years for Asian under-17 teams that also serves as a q ...

top goalscorer:

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

References

External links

Hwang-Hee-chan-OfficialHwang Hee-chan – National Team Stats
at KFA * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hwang, Hee-chan 1996 births Living people People from Chuncheon Association football forwards South Korean footballers South Korea under-17 international footballers South Korea under-20 international footballers South Korea under-23 international footballers South Korea international footballers South Korean expatriate footballers Austrian Football Bundesliga players 2. Liga (Austria) players FC Red Bull Salzburg players FC Liefering players Expatriate footballers in Austria South Korean expatriate sportspeople in Austria Footballers at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic footballers of South Korea 2018 FIFA World Cup players Footballers at the 2018 Asian Games Asian Games medalists in football Asian Games gold medalists for South Korea Medalists at the 2018 Asian Games 2. Bundesliga players 2019 AFC Asian Cup players Bundesliga players RB Leipzig players Expatriate footballers in Germany South Korean expatriate sportspeople in Germany South Korean expatriate sportspeople in England Premier League players Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. players Hamburger SV players Sportspeople from Gangwon Province, South Korea 2022 FIFA World Cup players