Hwoarang is a student of Baek Doo San and well-versed in the martial art of Tae Kwon Do. He used to gamble in street fighting. His fellow gang members would lose matches, then Hwoarang would step in and win. During one of these matches, he faced Jin Kazama, and he was forced to end in a draw. This was the first time that he had not succeeded in winning a fight. Hwoarang decided to train harder and never lose again. Upon visiting the dojo, he saw it destroyed. It had been attacked by Ogre.
Frustrated and angry, he entered The King of Iron Fist Tournament 3 to fight a conclusive battle with Jin, and to get revenge for the death of his master.
Hwoarang was drafted into the South Korean army. Longing for the rush of the hand-to-hand combat that he used to find only with street hustling, he went AWOL and became a fugitive of the South Korean government. He heard of The King of Iron Fist Tournament 4, and he decided to enter so that he could face his rival, Jin, in the tournament.
While Hwoarang was awaiting court martial, he was taken to the Korean embassy, where the ambassador issued him some urgent papers. After reading the papers, Hwoarang exclaimed, “I can’t believe it! Are you sure this is correct?” (It has been suggested that these papers were from Baek Doo San himself, informing Hwoarang that he survived Ogre’s attack.) Hwoarang completed his military service within two months, and then he entered The King of Iron Fist Tournament 5, eager to fight Jin Kazama. He was also asked to compete by his master Baek.
During the tournament, Hwoarang finally beat Jin. But, while leaving, Jin transformed into Devil Jin and attacked him. After Jin’s win, Hwoarang was sent to the hospital with Baek blaming himself. Later, Hwoarang tried to get up, but fell, and asked Baek to complete his training. Baek hesitantly accepted, and after the recuperating, Hwoarang entered the King of the Iron Fist Tournament 6 to defeat Jin, once and for all.Â
Video game appearances
- Tekken 3
- Tekken Tag Tournament
- Tekken 4
- Tekken 5
- Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection
- Tekken 6
- Tekken 6: Bloodline Rebellion
- Tekken Tag Tournament 2
- Tekken Advance