40 Facts About Hwang Sun-hong

Hwang Sun-hong was born on 14 July 1968 and is a South Korean former football player and current manager of the South Korea national under-23 football team and manager of Daejeon Hana Citizen.

Hwang Sun-hong's playing career included spells abroad at clubs in Germany and Japan, as well as 14 years representing the South Korea national football team, earning his first cap while still playing at college level.

Hwang Sun-hong joined POSCO Atoms after returning to South Korea in June 1993.

Hwang Sun-hong won two Asian Club Championships with Pohang, although he failed to win the K League title.

Hwang Sun-hong scored in eight consecutive matches in 1995, setting a record in the K League.

Hwang Sun-hong spent much of his career in the J1 League and enjoyed his most prolific season with Cerezo Osaka.

Hwang Sun-hong is the first South Korean footballer to become the top scorer in a foreign league.

Hwang Sun-hong was nominated for the Asian Footballer of the Year award in that year.

In late 2003, having finally retired, Hwang Sun-hong has now turned his attention to coaching.

An unknown college player, Hwang Sun-hong was suddenly selected for the South Korea national football team for the 1988 AFC Asian Cup by the manager Lee Hoe-taik.

Hwang Sun-hong scored his first and second goal against Japan and Iran respectively in the tournament.

Hwang Sun-hong was included in the national team for the 1990 FIFA World Cup after his outstanding performances including seven goals in qualifying campaign.

Hwang Sun-hong showed poor performance by scoring only one goal in qualifiers of the 1994 FIFA World Cup, but his form was regained in the friendly matches just before the World Cup.

Hwang Sun-hong apologized to his teammates after the first game, but his poor performance was continued by missing several opportunities against Bolivia.

Hwang Sun-hong was severely blamed for his inexact shots against Bolivia by South Korean fans, and suffered from social anxiety disorder after South Korea was eliminated in the group stage.

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

Hwang Sun-hong played for the South Korean under-23 team as an over-aged player in the 1996 Summer Olympics.

Hwang Sun-hong contributed to a victory by winning a crucial penalty in the first game against Ghana, but he quit the tournament due to his injury during the first half of the second game.

Hwang Sun-hong looked forward to the 1998 FIFA World Cup 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.

Hwang Sun-hong was disappointed to be excluded from the line-up during the tournament.

Hwang Sun-hong was still an important part of South Korea even at the 2002 FIFA World Cup, although he approached his mid-30s.

Hwang Sun-hong scored the winning goal in the first match against Poland, helping South Korea to achieve their first-ever victory in the FIFA World Cup.

Hwang Sun-hong made 103 appearances and 50 goals for South Korea alongside six operations due to injuries.

Hwang Sun-hong ended his international career after the 2002 World Cup.

In 2005, Hwang Sun-hong was appointed as assistant coach of Jeonnam Dragons and started his coaching career.

Hwang Sun-hong received Best Coach Award from the 2006 Korean FA Cup.

On 9 November 2010, Hwang Sun-hong returned to his former team Pohang Steelers as new manager.

Hwang Sun-hong guided Pohang to the second place in the 2011 regular season and a Korean FA Cup title in 2012.

Hwang Sun-hong preferred players who grew up under team's youth system instead of foreign players, and completed a high quality teamwork nicknamed the "Steel-taka".

Hwang Sun-hong 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 Sun-hong was appointed as manager of FC Seoul.

Hwang Sun-hong successfully finished the rest of the 2016 season by bringing the K League 1 title.

On 14 December 2018, Hwang Sun-hong was appointed as manager of Yanbian Funde.

Hwang Sun-hong left the club after Yanbian Funde was disqualified for the 2019 China League One due to owing taxes in February 2019.

Hwang Sun-hong was criticised for his tactics by the board during the season and came into conflict with Huh.

Hwang Sun-hong had to leave Daejeon in the middle of the season.

Hwang Sun-hong 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.

Hwang Sun-hong was appointed as the interim manager for the senior national team on 27 February 2024.

Hwang Sun-hong's team was eliminated in the U-23 Asian Cup quarter-finals once more after suffering a shocking defeat to Indonesia.

In February 2024, Hwang Sun-hong was chosen as caretaker manager of South Korea, replacing the German manager Jurgen Klinsmann to prepare for the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification against Thailand.