# Hwang Jae-won (footballer, born 2002)

Hwang Jae-won (Korean: 황재원; born 16 August 2002) is a South Korean footballer who plays as a right back for Daegu FC and the South Korea national team.

## Youth career

As a youth, Hwang played for Suwon FC's youth academy before transferring to Gwacheon High School [ko]. He then transferred to Hongik University in Seoul where he played under Park Chang-hyun.

## Club career
### Daegu FC

On 5 January 2022, Hwang was signed to K League 1 side Daegu FC and made his professional career debut at the opening match of the 2022 season. On 5 May 2022, he scored his first career goal in an away match against Pohang Steelers with an assist from his own goalkeeper. He also won the K League Young Player of the Month award for May 2022. In addition to league play, he made 6 appearances with 2 assists in the 2022 AFC Champions League and was selected as one of the 2022 Champions League Right Backs of the Year. At the end the 2022 season, Hwang played a total of 43 games with 1 goal and 5 assists.
In June 2023, Hwang won the K League Young Player of the Month award for May 2023 for the second time. On 10 June 2023, Hwang scored one goal and one assist to help his club to a 3–1 home win against Suwon FC.
On 24 August 2024, Hwang scored the winning goal in an away game against Pohang Steelers where Daegu FC won 2–1. In an interview, Hwang described the goal as the first proper goal of his Daegu FC career.

## International career

In September 2022, Hwang was called up to the South Korea under-23 team. He participated in two friendly matches against China in June 2023. In July 2023, Hwang was named to the final roster of South Korea's under-23 squad for the 2022 Asian Games. Hwang was the youngest member of the squad and played as a starting right defender in six games. During the gold medal match against Japan, Hwang provided an assist for Jeong Woo-yeong's header goal in the 27th minute and participated in the build-up play for the game winning goal in the second half of the match. The squad's gold medal victory allowed Hwang to qualify for an exemption from South Korea's mandatory military service.
On 27 May 2024, Hwang was called up to the South Korea national team by interim coach Kim Do-hoon for the second round of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. On 6 June 2024, he made his national team debut as a starting right fullback against Singapore. While South Korea won the match 7–0, Hwang was replaced by Park Seung-wook in the 25th minute of the second half and expressed disappointment with his performance. On 11 June 2024, Hwang came off the bench as a substitute and played for 30 minutes against China in a match that ended with a 1–0 win.
On 30 August 2024, Hwang was added to the national team's lineup for the third round of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers as a replacement for Kim Moon-hwan who had suffered a left adductor injury.

## Career statistics

    As of 8 March 2025
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition :
| Club | Season | League | League | League | Korean FA Cup | Korean FA Cup | Asia | Asia | Play-offs | Play-offs | Total | Total |
| Club | Season | Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Daegu FC | 2022 | K League 1 | 34 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 0 | — | — | 43 | 1 |
| Daegu FC | 2023 | K League 1 | 33 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 33 | 1 |
| Daegu FC | 2024 | K League 1 | 31 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 0 | 33 | 2 |
| Daegu FC | 2025 | K League 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 4 | 0 |
| Career total | Career total | Career total | 102 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 113 | 4 |
* ↑ Appearances in AFC Champions League

## Honours

South Korea U23
* Asian Games: 2022
Individual
* K League Young Player of the Month: May 2022, May 2023
* AFC Champions League Right Backs of the Year: 2022