The breakthrough yearThe year he turned 18, he signed with Salzburg of Austria while holding a priority pick from Pohang Steelers, setting off a transfer dispute. Sports Q says this is when he first became publicly known.
In February 2015, he made his professional debut for Liefering in the Austrian second division, and in December he debuted for Salzburg’s first team against Mattersburg. In January 2016, he helped Korea past Qatar and into the Olympics at the AFC U-23 Championship, and in August he scored the opening goal against Germany at the Rio Olympics. In September he was called up to the senior national team for the first time for World Cup qualifying against China.
In 2017, he scored five goals in the first eight games of the season. In May 2018, he helped Salzburg reach the Europa League semifinals and finished with 13 goals on the season, and in June he was named to the 23-man Russia World Cup squad as the only Austria-based player.
On Aug. 27 of that year, he scored an extra-time winner against Uzbekistan in the Asian Games quarterfinal, and during the tournament a one-year loan to Hamburg was announced. In the Sept. 1 final against Japan he scored on an assist from Son Heung-min, won the gold medal and received a military service benefit.
In 2019, he finished his Hamburg loan and returned to Salzburg, and in October he had a goal and an assist away at Liverpool in the Champions League. In 2020, he moved to Leipzig in Germany.
In May 2021, he started the DFB-Pokal final but Leipzig lost 4-1 to Dortmund, and in August he was loaned to Wolverhampton in England. In January 2022, his permanent move to Wolverhampton was confirmed, and in June he scored against Chile and then entered the Nonsan Army Training Center for basic military training.
That December, he came on against Portugal at the World Cup after a hamstring injury and scored the winner to take Korea into the round of 16, and three days later he made his first start of the tournament against Brazil. In November 2023, he was named Wolves Player of the Month for the first time for October, and in December he signed a five-year extension.
In 2024, he scored in the round-of-16 shootout against Saudi Arabia at the Asian Cup to help Korea into the quarterfinals. In August 2025, he scored his first goal of the season after 243 days. The year he turned 30, he made his first start of the World Cup against South Africa in the last group match, but the team went out in the group stage. In September he was loaned to Schalke in Germany.
Hwang Hee-chan (born Jan 26, 1996) first became publicly known on Dec 16, 2014, the year he turned 18, through his transfer dispute over a move to Salzburg of Austria, and made his professional debut for FC Liefering in the Austrian second division on Feb 28, 2015, the year he turned 19. In 2022, the year he turned 26, he scored a comeback winner against Portugal at the Qatar World Cup.
Ages are by calendar year (the year minus the birth year), birthdays aside.