Born in Sunchon, Korea, which is now part of North Korea.
He was due to play a role in Bruce Lee Siu-lung's original The Game Of Death, which began filming in 1972, but his scenes were never filmed. He did however appear in the original footage, as in some shots he doubled for Chieh Yuen in his fight scene against Hwang's own Hapkido senior, Ji Han-jae.
He was the Hapkido instructor of acclaimed martial arts director/actor Yoo Chang-guk.