Hwang Sun-hong (born 14 July 1968) is a South Korean former

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player and current manager of the

South Korea national under-23 football team The South Korea national under-23 football team (; recognized as Korea Republic by FIFA, and Republic of Korea by IOC) represents South Korea at football in the Olympic Games and Asian Games. It was founded when the Olympic football was changed t ...

and manager of Daejeon Hana Citizen. His playing career included spells abroad at clubs in Germany and Japan, as well as 14 years representing the

South Korea national football team The South Korea national football team (; recognized as Korea Republic by FIFA) represents South Korea in men's international Association football, football and is governed by the Korea Football Association, a member of FIFA and the Asian Foot ...

, earning his first cap while still playing at college level.

Club career

After graduating from Konkuk University, Hwang decided not to enter the

K League K League () is South Korea's professional football league. It includes the first division K League 1 and the second division K League 2. Clubs competing in the K League have won a record total of twelve AFC Champions League Elite, AFC Champions ...

and left for

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

to begin his professional career. During a season, he played for the

reserve team In sports, a reserve team is a team composed of players who are under contract to a club but who do not regularly play in matches for the club's primary team. Reserve teams usually include players who are part of the larger first-team squad but ...

Bayer Leverkusen Bayer 04 Leverkusen, officially known as Bayer 04 Leverkusen Fußball GmbH () and commonly known as Bayer Leverkusen or simply Leverkusen, is a German professional football club based in Leverkusen, North Rhine-Westphalia. It competes in the B ...

, scoring 16 goals in the Oberliga Nordrhein, Germany's third division at the time. Next season, Hwang joined 2. Bundesliga side

Wuppertaler SV Wuppertaler SV is a Football in Germany, German association football club located in Wuppertal, North Rhine-Westphalia. The city was founded in the year of 1880 by the union of a number of smaller towns including Elberfeld, Barmen, Vohwinkel, Cr ...

, but he appeared only nine games due to a

cruciate ligament Cruciate ligaments (also cruciform ligaments) are pairs of ligaments arranged like a letter X. They occur in several joints of the body, such as the knee joint, wrist joint and the atlanto-axial joint. In a fashion similar to the cords in ...

injury. Hwang joined POSCO Atoms (currently Pohang Steelers) after returning to South Korea in June 1993. He won two

Asian Club Championship The AFC Champions League Elite (abbreviated as the ACL Elite) is an annual continental club football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation, and contested by Asia's top-division football clubs. It is the most prestigious cl ...

s with Pohang, although he failed to win the

title. He also scored in eight consecutive matches in

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

, setting a record in the K League. Hwang spent much of his career in the

J1 League The , the J.League or the for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Japan and the highest level of the Japanese football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation ...

and enjoyed his most prolific season with

Cerezo Osaka is a Japanese professional football club based in Osaka. The club currently plays in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the country. The club's name ''Cerezo'' (Spanish for cherry blossom) is also the flower of the city of Osak ...

. In the 1999 J1 League, he scored 24 goals during 25 appearances, becoming the top goalscorer. He is the first South Korean footballer to become the top scorer in a foreign league. He was also nominated for the Asian Footballer of the Year award in that year. In late 2003, having finally retired, Hwang has now turned his attention to coaching.

International career

1990 World Cup

An unknown college player, Hwang was suddenly selected for the

for the

1988 AFC Asian Cup The 1988 AFC Asian Cup was the 9th edition of the men's AFC Asian Cup, a quadrennial international association football tournament organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The finals were held in Qatar between 2 December and 18 Decembe ...

by the manager Lee Hoe-taik. He scored his first and second goal against

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

and

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

respectively in the tournament. Hwang was included in the national team for the

1990 FIFA World Cup The 1990 FIFA World Cup was the 14th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial Association football, football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was held from 8 June to 8 July 1990 in Italy, the second country to host the event for a second ...

after his outstanding performances including seven goals in qualifying campaign. In the competition, however, he had difficulty in showing teamwork, and couldn't prevent South Korea's three defeats.

1994 World Cup

Hwang showed poor performance by scoring only one goal in qualifiers of the

1994 FIFA World Cup The 1994 FIFA World Cup was the 15th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national soccer teams. It was hosted by the United States and took place from June 17 to July 17, 1994, at nine venues across the country. The United States w ...

, but his form was regained in the friendly matches just before the World Cup. However, his left knee was injured in the last friendly against

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, ...

before the tournament, worrying his manager Kim Ho. In the first game against

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

, he had two chances to score, but missed both. He apologized to his teammates after the first game, but his poor performance was continued by missing several opportunities against

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

. He scored a goal in the last group game against the defending champions

, but the game ended in a 3–2 defeat. He was severely blamed for his inexact shots against Bolivia by South Korean fans, and suffered from

social anxiety disorder Social anxiety disorder (SAD), also known as social phobia, is an anxiety disorder characterized by sentiments of fear and anxiety in social situations, causing considerable distress and impairing ability to function in at least some asp ...

after South Korea was eliminated in the group stage.

1996 Summer Olympics

In contrast with fans' criticism, Hwang was consistently chosen as a striker of the national team by managers. In the

1994 Asian Games The 1994 Asian Games (), also known as the XII Asiad and the 12th Asian Games () or simply Hiroshima 1994 (), were held from October 2 to 16, 1994, in Hiroshima, Japan. It was the first Asian Games in history to be hosted in a non-capital city. Th ...

, he scored eleven goals in five games, becoming the top goalscorer of the tournament. Hwang also played for the South Korean under-23 team as an over-aged player in the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

. He contributed to a victory by winning a crucial penalty in the first game against

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

, but he quit the tournament due to his injury during the first half of the second game. Hwang looked forward to the

1998 FIFA World Cup The 1998 FIFA World Cup was the 16th FIFA World Cup, the Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams. The finals tournament was held in France from 10 June to 1 ...

to make up for his failure in the 1994 World Cup, but he was injured by a Chinese goalkeeper Jiang Jin in a friendly just before the World Cup. He was disappointed to be excluded from the line-up during the tournament.

2002 World Cup

In the

2001 FIFA Confederations Cup The 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup was the fifth FIFA Confederations Cup and the third to be organized by FIFA. It was also the first in which the original hosts, Saudi Arabia national football team, Saudi Arabia, did not participate (they were the ...

, Hwang won the Bronze Shoe award after scoring in two victories against

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. Hwang was still an important part of South Korea even at the

2002 FIFA World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea/Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams organized by ...

, although he approached his mid-30s. He scored the winning goal in the first match against

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

, helping South Korea to achieve their first-ever victory in the

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...

. In the second match against the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, his head was injured, but he won a penalty after wrapping a bandage around his head. In the penalty shoot-out of the quarter-final match against Spain, he came forward as South Korea's first kicker, and succeeded in scoring. Hwang made 103 appearances and 50 goals for South Korea alongside six operations due to injuries. He ended his international career after the 2002 World Cup.

Coaching career

In 2005, Hwang was appointed as assistant coach of

Jeonnam Dragons The Jeonnam Dragons () are a South Korean professional football club based in the city of Gwangyang, South Jeolla Province that competes in the K League 2, the second tier of South Korean football. The Dragons play their home matches at the G ...

and started his coaching career. He received Best Coach Award from the 2006 Korean FA Cup. On 4 December 2007, he signed a three-year contract with

Busan IPark Busan IPark FC () is a South Korean professional football club based in Busan that competes in K League 2, the second tier of the South Korean football pyramid. They play their home games at the Busan Gudeok Stadium. Busan IPark was founded as ...

and became manager of Busan.

Managerial career

Pohang Steelers

On 9 November 2010, Hwang returned to his former team

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

as new manager. He guided Pohang to the second place in the 2011 regular season and a Korean FA Cup title in 2012. He preferred players who grew up under team's youth system instead of foreign players, and completed a high quality teamwork nicknamed the "Steel-taka". He became one of the most notable managers in South Korea after winning the

K League 1 The K League 1 () is a professional association football league in South Korea and the highest level of the South Korean football league system. The league is contested by twelve clubs. It is one of the most successful leagues in the Asian Foo ...

and the Korean FA Cup simultaneously in 2013.

FC Seoul

On 21 June 2016, Hwang was appointed as manager of

FC Seoul FC Seoul () is a South Korean professional Association football, football club based in Seoul that competes in the K League 1, the top flight of Football in South Korea, South Korean football. The club is owned by GS Sports, a subsidiary of GS G ...

. He successfully finished the rest of the 2016 season by bringing the K League 1 title. However, his discernment in the transfer market was not good and newcomers chosen by him showed poor performances. He was also in severe conflict with veteran players

Dejan Damjanović Dejan Damjanović ( sr-cyrl, Дејан Дамјановић, ; born 27 July 1981), also known mononymously as Dejan, is a former Montenegrin professional footballer who played as a forward. He is regarded as one of the greatest K League play ...

, Osmar and Park Chu-young, failing to control them. Due to his poor results in subsequent seasons, he finally resigned on 30 April 2018.

Yanbian Funde

On 14 December 2018, Hwang was appointed as manager of Yanbian Funde. He left the club after Yanbian Funde was disqualified for the 2019 China League One due to owing taxes in February 2019.

Daejeon Hana Citizen

Daejeon Citizen was reorganised under the name of Daejeon Hana Citizen by its new owner Hana Financial Group before the 2020 season, and chose Hwang as its first manager on the recommendation of Huh Jung-moo, its director and Hwang's former mentor. Hwang was criticised for his tactics by the board during the season and also came into conflict with Huh. As a result, he left Daejeon in the middle of the season.

South Korea U23

Hwang was selected as manager of South Korean under-23 team in September 2021, but worried a considerable number of Koreans due to his poor results in Seoul and Daejeon. He once again had difficulty bringing a successful outcome by being eliminated in the quarter-finals of the 2022 AFC U-23 Asian Cup after a 3–0 defeat to

. Afterwards, he won all seven matches in the 2022 Asian Games, making a chance to rehabilitate himself. He was also appointed as the interim manager for the senior national team on 27 February 2024. However, his managerial career did not go into reverse, with South Korea failing to qualify for the

Olympic football Association football has been included in every Summer Olympic Games as a men's competition sport, except 1896 (the inaugural Games) and 1932 (in an attempt to promote the new FIFA World Cup tournament). Women's football was added to the offic ...

for the first time in 40 years since

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

. His team was eliminated in the U-23 Asian Cup quarter-finals once more after suffering a shocking defeat to

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

South Korea

In February 2024, Hwang was also chosen as caretaker manager of

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

, replacing the German manager

Jürgen Klinsmann Jürgen Klinsmann (; born 30 July 1964) is a German professional Association football, football manager and former player. He played for several prominent clubs in Europe including VfB Stuttgart, Inter Milan, AS Monaco FC, Monaco, Tottenham Hot ...

to prepare for the

2026 FIFA World Cup qualification The 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification will decide the 45 teams that will join hosts Canada men's national soccer team, Canada, Mexico national football team, Mexico, and the United States men's national soccer team, United States at the 2026 FIFA ...

against

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

. Under his short-lived tenure, South Korea were held to a shock draw at home to Thailand 1–1, but managed to outplay the Thais 3–0 away to cement their top table position.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Results list South Korea's goal tally first.''

Managerial statistics

Honours

Player

Pohang Steelers *

Korean FA Cup The Korea Cup (), formerly the Korean FA Cup, is a national Association football, football cup knockout competition of South Korea, held annually by the Korea Football Association (KFA). Before the competition was established in 1996, two simil ...

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

Korean League Cup The Korean League Cup was a professional football competition in South Korean football. It was held by the K League Federation from 1986 to 2012. Sponsorship Results Finals Titles by club K League's principle of official statistics is tha ...

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

: 1996–97, 1997–98 South Korea *

AFC Asian Cup The AFC Asian Cup is the primary association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), determining the continental champion of Asia. It is the second-oldest c ...

runner-up: 1988 *

Asian Games The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years for athletes of Asia. The Games were regulated by Asian Games Federation from the 1951 Asian Games, first Games in New Delhi, India in 1951, until ...

bronze medal:

1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...

* Dynasty Cup:

Individual * Korean FA Best XI: 1988 *

top goalscorer:

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

* K League All-Star: 1995 * K League 1 Best XI:

* J.League All-Star: 1999 * J1 League top goalscorer:

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

* J1 League Best XI:

FIFA Confederations Cup The FIFA Confederations Cup was an international association football tournament for men's national teams, held every four years by FIFA. It was contested by the holders of each of the six continental championships ( AFC, CAF, CONCACAF, CONMEBO ...

Bronze Shoe:

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

* K League '90s All-Star Team: 2003 * K League 30th Anniversary Best XI: 2013

Manager

Busan IPark *

runner-up:

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

runner-up:

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

Pohang Steelers *

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

FC Seoul *

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

runner-up:

South Korea U23 *

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

Individual *

Best Manager:

* K League 1 Manager of the Year:

Manager of the Month: April 2014, September 2015, October 2016 * K League All-Star: 2014, 2017

Notes

References

External links

*
Hwang Sun-hong – National Team Stats
at KFA * * *
International Appearances & Goals
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hwang, Sun-Hong 1968 births Living people People from Yesan County Men's association football forwards South Korean men's footballers South Korean expatriate men's footballers South Korea men's international footballers South Korean football managers Wuppertaler SV players 2. Bundesliga players Pohang Steelers players J1 League players Cerezo Osaka players Suwon Samsung Bluewings players Kashiwa Reysol players Jeonnam Dragons players Busan IPark managers Pohang Steelers managers FC Seoul managers K League 1 managers Expatriate men's footballers in Germany Expatriate men's footballers in Japan 1988 AFC Asian Cup players 1990 FIFA World Cup players 1994 FIFA World Cup players 1998 FIFA World Cup players 2000 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup players 2002 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2002 FIFA World Cup players Footballers at the 1996 Summer Olympics Olympic footballers for South Korea FIFA Men's Century Club South Korean expatriate sportspeople in Germany South Korean expatriate sportspeople in Japan Konkuk University alumni Asian Games medalists in football Footballers at the 1990 Asian Games Footballers at the 1994 Asian Games Asian Games bronze medalists for South Korea Medalists at the 1990 Asian Games Sun-hong Yanbian Funde F.C. managers Expatriate football managers in China Daejeon Hana Citizen managers Sportspeople from South Chungcheong Province AFC Champions League Elite–winning players 20th-century South Korean sportsmen

Club career

International career

1990 World Cup

1994 World Cup

1996 Summer Olympics

2002 World Cup

Coaching career

Managerial career

Pohang Steelers

FC Seoul

Yanbian Funde

Daejeon Hana Citizen

South Korea U23

South Korea

Career statistics

Club

International

Managerial statistics

Honours

Player

Manager

See also

Notes

References

External links