Meet ‘The Bull’ – the top flight’s deadliest striker
Hee Chan Hwang reveals how he outdid Van Dijk, why he has his nickname and his feelings about military service
The number of players to embarrass Virgil van Dijk can be counted on one hand, and Hee Chan Hwang will never forget the night two years ago when he sent Liverpool’s defensive colossus “out for a hot dog”.
It was this summer when Hwang finally fulfilled his dream of moving to the Premier League, but the South Korean’s reputation was already high in this country after that remarkable piece of skill at Anfield.
With Red Bull Salzburg trailing 3-0 against the Champions League holders, Hwang sprinkled stardust on Merseyside by turning Van Dijk inside out with a feint to shoot, switching the ball to his right foot before launching a shot into the corner to spark a revival.
For just one moment, Van Dijk’s air of invincibility disappeared and it was Wolves’ summer signing who provided the magic. “At the time I wasn’t thinking about the team performance or even how I played, because I was laser-focused on trying to actually win,” says Hwang, in his first newspaper interview since moving to Molineux.
“But after the game we talked to each other and had a smile about it. We had a handshake and from then there was a mutual respect for each other. He’s so very difficult to get past and I learned that from the games. I discovered how much of a brick wall he is!
“Afterwards I was contacted by lots of people and it obviously made an impression. I’m really excited to play Liverpool again but I’m geared up for every match, whoever the opposition is.”
Hwang’s reunion with Van Dijk will have to wait until Dec 4, but he has made an instant impact since joining Wolves on loan from RB Leipzig. He has scored four goals from four shots on target in the Premier League, including last weekend’s clinical finish at Leeds United – not even Mo Salah has been as deadly – and is underlining why Wolves’s recruitment team trailed him for so long. Though the deal was initially for the season, Wolves have an option to sign him permanently for £14million.
“As a young kid I grew up watching players like Park Ji-sung and Seol Ki-hyeon (who played for Wolves from 2004-06). It was like a dream watching them on television, so to come here, play and score in the Premier League it feels like my dream has become a reality,” he says. “I’m glad I’ve come here and played a part towards that winning cause and mentality. Together as we grow into the league and play more matches, I want to contribute even more. I want to excite the fans.”
It is no surprise that Hwang has made such an impression, as his style of play is perfectly suited to Bruno Lage’s attack-minded approach.
Fast, skilful and strong, he is renowned for his pressing game too, which was perfected after making the move to RB Salzburg in 2015. He is the closest Wolves have come to replacing the power and goals of Diogo Jota, who joined Liverpool for £41million in September 2020.
Hwang’s nickname of “The Bull”, which has been adopted by the Wolves squad, is very apt and takes on added significance due to the club’s legendary forward Steve Bull.
“I’m a forward so I like to focus on an aggressive, attacking style,” says Hwang. “I’ve learned that to be a team player, I have to also defend. They taught me in Salzburg how to press and defend properly. It took time and effort to learn that ability, so the reputation I have now [with his playing style] is all from Austria.
“I can learn a lot from watching Son [the Tottenham forward and Hwang’s international team-mate], and the first thing is hard work. It’s what the manager tells me, to work consistently every day, and that’s what I need to become one of the best players. The goal of every player is to become one of the best and that will never waver for me.”
Hwang grew up in Bucheon, a city in Gyeonggi Province, and recalls how the 2002 World Cup ignited his passion for football. He was six years old and attended some of the games at the Seoul World Cup Stadium. Hwang Sun-hong, the South Korea forward, was a personal inspiration.
“I was just a kid playing in the street,” he says. “We used to play four versus four, or odd numbers – there were some interesting times when it was four versus one, where I was the one.
“That taught me an awful lot, you had to dribble out of trouble and that’s when I learned about pace and having
that eye for goal. There was
constant pressure and when it became one versus one, it became boring and too easy for me. I never used to defend, so when I moved to Austria it was a big learning curve.”
His performances in youth football elevated him to South Korea’s junior levels and then a move to Pohang Steelers, where he helped the under-15s win the Korean National School League. Individual accolades caught the eye of Salzburg and he officially joined them at the age of 18. Like Leicester’s Patson Daka, Hwang was first loaned out to feeder club FC Liefering in Austria’s second division. It did not take long for him to establish himself in Salzburg’s first-team, however, playing a key role as the club reached the Europa League semi-finals in 2018.
Later that year he won the gold medal with South Korea in the Asia Games’ football tournament in Indonesia. “I’m very thankful we got the gold and the outcome was that we were exempt from military service, but at no point was that the main focus. It was never in our
‘I trained with Haaland every day and could tell he would become one of the world’s best players’
thoughts, the goal was to win. As a Korean male, military service is compulsory and I need to do one month before next summer, plus 544 hours of voluntary work, which I’m very happy to do.”
During this special period in his career with Salzburg, Hwang was lining up alongside the likes of Daka, Takumi Minamino and an emerging forward signed from Molde, Erling Haaland.
While Hwang made headlines against Liverpool, it was Haaland who earned a high-profile move to Borussia Dortmund later that season after 28 goals in 22 appearances. “I trained with him every day and you could tell he was going to be one of the best players in the world,” says Hwang. “He was constantly working hard and pushing himself. That had an effect on everyone else. He’s now at a fantastic club and I’m truly a fan of Haaland.”
After spending a year with RB Leipzig, learning under the “phenomenal” Julian Nagelsmann, Hwang finally moved to Wolves shortly before the transfer deadline.
He is already emerging as a fans’ favourite, ahead of Monday’s meeting with Everton. Now 25, he is fully settled in the city, and this week moved into a house in Tettenhall. His mother, Song Young-mi, will leave Germany to live with him. “All my friends and family know how much my mother means to me,” he says. “She’s been a constant support throughout my career. I’m eternally grateful to her.”
Hwang is also taking intense English lessons and says:. “I want to learn as soon as possible, so I can communicate with the fans and team-mates. I’ve learnt a lot from the players since I signed, from their football and as a human being. They are very good, decent people and I’m excited for the future.”