Hwang Sun-hong (born 14 July 1968) is a South Korean football manager and former player. He is currently manager of K League 1 club Daejeon Hana Citizen. During his playing career, he played for the South Korea national team at the 1990, 1994 and 2002 FIFA World Cups.
After graduating from Konkuk University, Hwang decided not to enter his country's K League and began his senior career in Germany. During his first season as a senior player, he played for the reserve team of Bayer Leverkusen, scoring 16 goals at the Oberliga Nordrhein, Germany's third division at the time.
The next season, Hwang joined 2. Bundesliga side Wuppertaler SV, but he appeared in only nine matches due to a cruciate ligament injury.
Hwang joined K League club POSCO Atoms (currently Pohang Steelers) after returning to South Korea in June 1993. He won two Asian Club Championships with Pohang, whereas he failed to win a K League title. In 1995, he scored in eight consecutive K League matches, setting a record.
In 1998, Hwang moved to J1 League club Cerezo Osaka. At 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 at a foreign league. That year, he was also nominated for the Asian Footballer of the Year by the Asian Football Confederation. In late 2003, he retired as a player, and started his coaching career.
An unknown college player, Hwang was suddenly selected for the South Korea national team for the 1988 AFC Asian Cup by manager Lee Hoe-taik. At the tournament, he scored his first and second goals against Japan and Iran respectively.
Hwang was included in the national team for the 1990 FIFA World Cup after showing his outstanding performances including seven goals during the qualifying campaign. However, he had difficulty in performing teamwork, while South Korea lost all three group stage matches at the competition.
Hwang showed poor performances, with he scoring only one goal in the qualifiers for the 1994 FIFA World Cup. He gradually regained his capability in friendly matches just before the World Cup, but injured his left knee in the last friendly against Honduras. Although he was not in a stable condition, manager Kim Ho used him as a main striker at the competition. He apologised to his teammates after their first group stage match against Spain, where he missed two crucial chances. In the second match against Bolivia, he continuously missed several chances, and South Korea had to face a goalless draw. He scored a goal in the last group stage against defending champions Germany, but the match ended in a 3âÂÂ2 defeat. After South Korea was eliminated in the group stage, he was severely blamed for his inexact shots against Bolivia by South Korean fans, suffering from social anxiety disorder.
In contrast with fans' criticism, Hwang was consistently chosen as a striker of the national team by managers. At the 1994 Asian Games, he scored eleven goals in five matches, becoming the tournament's top goalscorer.
Hwang also played for the South Korea under-23 team as an overage player at the 1996 Summer Olympics. He contributed to a victory by winning a crucial penalty in the first match against Ghana, but he quit the tournament due to an injury in the first half of the second match.
Hwang looked forward to the 1998 FIFA World Cup to make up for his failure at the 1994 World Cup, but he was injured by Chinese goalkeeper Jiang Jin in a friendly just before the World Cup. He was excluded from South Korea's line-up during the tournament.
During the 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup, Hwang won the Bronze Shoe after scoring in two victories over Mexico and Australia.
Hwang was still South Korea's first-choice striker even at the 2002 FIFA World Cup. He scored the opener in the first match against Poland, which ended in a 2âÂÂ0 win, helping South Korea achieve their first-ever win at the FIFA World Cup. In the second match, a 1âÂÂ1 draw with the United States, he had injured his head, but won a penalty after wrapping a bandage around his head. In a 5âÂÂ3 penalty shoot-out win of a quarter-final match against Spain, he scored South Korea's first penalty.
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.
In 2005, Hwang was appointed as assistant coach of Jeonnam Dragons and started his coaching career. He received Best Coach Award at the 2006 Korean FA Cup. On 4 December 2007, he signed a three-year contract with Busan IPark, becoming their manager.
On 9 November 2010, Hwang returned to his former team Pohang Steelers as a new manager. He guided Pohang to the second place in the regular season of the 2011 K-League, and a Korean FA Cup title in 2012. He preferred the club's youth players to foreign players, and completed high-quality teamwork nicknamed the "Steel-taka". He became one of the most notable managers in South Korea after winning the K League 1 and the Korean FA Cup simultaneously in 2013.
On 21 June 2016, Hwang was appointed manager of another K League 1 club FC Seoul. 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 DamjanoviÃÂ, Osmar and Park Chu-young, failing to control them. Due to his poor results in subsequent seasons, he finally resigned on 30 April 2018.
On 14 December 2018, Hwang was appointed manager of Yanbian Funde. He left the club after Yanbian Funde were disqualified for the 2019 China League One due to their back taxes in February 2019.
K League 2 club Daejeon Citizen were reorganised under the name of Daejeon Hana Citizen by their new owners Hana Financial Group before the 2020 season, and chose Hwang as their first manager on the recommendation of Huh Jung-moo, their 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.
Hwang was selected as manager of the South Korea under-23 team in September 2021, but worried a considerable number of Koreans due to his poor results at 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 3âÂÂ0 defeat to Japan. Afterwards, he won all seven matches at the 2022 Asian Games, making a chance to rehabilitate himself. He was also appointed interim manager of 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 for the first time in 40 years since 1984. His team were eliminated in the U-23 Asian Cup quarter-finals once more after suffering a penalty shoot-out defeat to Indonesia.
In February 2024, Hwang was chosen as South Korea's caretaker manager, replacing Jürgen Klinsmann to prepare for two FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Thailand. Under his short-lived tenure, South Korea were held to a shock 1âÂÂ1 draw at home, but gained a 3âÂÂ0 away win.
On 5 June 2024, Hwang received one more opportunity from Daejeon Hana Citizen, who were promoted to the K League 1 after he left. The continuation of his managerial career caused controversy, but he succeeded in helping them escape the relegation zone that year. The next year, his team finished second at the league, qualifying for the 2026âÂÂ27 AFC Champions League Elite.
Pohang Steelers
South Korea
Individual
Busan IPark
Pohang Steelers
FC Seoul
South Korea U23
Individual