Jae-Won Hwang is a 22-year-old South Korean right-wing-back who plays for Daegu F.C in the K-League. Hwang has played three times for South Korea’s senior national team and was part of the 2022 Asian games team that won a gold medal (thus exempting him from military service).
Hwang primarily plays as a right-wing-back but also occasionally plays as a centre-midfielder. Hwang is very smooth on the ball. There aren’t necessarily a lot of opportunities to break lines from his right-wing-back position but Hwang can consistently progress the ball up the right flank through passing. He seems to take particular pleasure in flicking the ball over the head of an opponent pressuring him. He’s comfortable carrying the ball unopposed but his dribbling leaves something to be desired. He doesn’t have the dynamism to beat defenders 1v1 and often has to recycle possession when isolated 1v1. Hwang is very good at stretching the opposing defence by making overlapping runs and receiving the ball in wide areas. However, his crossing is a bit lacking. He puts in too many crosses from all the way on the sideline and they are often a bit lacking in pace and swerve. As such, his crosses are usually dealt with quite easily. Still, he has managed 4 assists this season on a team battling against relegation. So the fact he is able to receive the ball in space in the final 3rd is enough that he can create goals sometimes.
On the defensive side of things, Hwang does enough. He isn’t a super-aggressive defender but he does a good job of shielding the space behind him and shepherding opponents away from his zone of responsibility. Hwang doesn’t have elite physicality but he’s reasonably quick and strong. He’s listed as 5’9 (1.8m) and he has a wiry build. He doesn’t have elite speed but he can get up and down the touchline without getting caught out of position.
Hwang is very close to being an outstanding player. If he were a little more dangerous in the final 3rd or a little better at dribbling he would be very exciting. He’s 22 so there is still some room to grow but not a huge amount. I think he would be a good addition for a mid-table team at the next level down from the top-5 leagues.
Target Scouting 