| “ | One hit and you're done. Bring it! | „ |
| ~ Hwoarang |
| “ | I won't hold back! | „ |
| ~ Hwoarang in Street Fighter X Tekken. |
| “ | I've gotta ride all the way to the tournament... with this jerk? (Jin: Hwoarang.) Kazama. | „ |
| ~ Hwoarang when seeing Jin in Tekken: Bloodline. |
Hwoarang (Korean/Hangul: 화랑 |Hanja: 花郎 Hwoarang) is a supporting character in the Tekken series who first appeared in Tekken 3 and returned in all subsequent games. He is the Taekwondo student of Baek Doo San, and entered the third Tournament to get revenge on Ogre for "killing" his master. He has also become Jin Kazama's eternal rival after the two fought to a draw in one of Hwoarang's street matches before the events of Tekken 3.
He was voiced by Toshiyuki Morikawa in Tekken 3, the Asian version of Tekken 4 and the Japanese version of Tekken: Bloodline and Tomoaki Maeno in the Japanese version of Street Fighter X Tekken, South Korean voice actors Lee Jong-gug in the international version of Tekken 4 and Um Sang-hyun in Tekken 5 onwards, and Chris Rickabaugh in Street Fighter X Tekken and Todd Haberkorn in the English version of Tekken: Bloodline.
Biography[]
Tekken 3[]
Hwoarang is a Taekwondo master and the rival of Jin Kazama. Prior to the third King of Iron Fist Tournament, Hwoarang doubled as a Taekwondo student of Baek Doo San and the leader of a street fraud team who picked fights and used dishonest tactics to increase wagers made against them; they would feign weakness and ineptitude to encourage people to up their bets, only for Hwoarang to step in when sufficient money was on the line and soundly defeat their opponents. One day, Hwoarang encountered some associates of the Mishima Zaibatsu. Among this group was Jin Kazama. Hwoarang talked them into a match, but was unable to defeat Jin; their fight ended in a draw. This was the first time Hwoarang had ever failed to score a victory against an opponent. A short time after Hwoarang and Jin's fight, Baek Doo San went missing and was believed to have been killed by Ogre. Hwoarang entered the third King of Iron Fist Tournament to avenge his master and settle his score with Jin in a rematch. There is no canonical material that states whether or not Hwoarang fought Jin in this tournament.
Tekken 4[]
After the tournament, Hwoarang returned to South Korea, where he was drafted into the military. He was placed in a Special Operations unit and achieved success on various missions despite his penchant for disobeying authority. Hwoarang found army life dissatisfying, however, and deserted to attend the fourth King of Iron Fist Tournament when he heard that it had been announced. Before Hwoarang could fight Jin at the tournament, the military caught up with him and he was arrested. While Hwoarang was in custody, he received a letter from Baek Doo San, who, it transpired, had survived Ogre's attack. In the letter, Baek asked Hwoarang to return to the military to complete his service.
Tekken 5[]
Two months later, Hwoarang finished his military service and traveled to the fifth King of Iron Fist Tournament with his master. He was matched against Jin during the tournament, and succeeded in defeating him; however, Jin's devil form emerged moments after Hwoarang claimed the win, and savagely attacked Hwoarang, almost killing him. Hwoarang fell unconscious and woke up in a hospital bed three days later after receiving critical care. He begged Baek, who had stayed at his bedside, to train him to be even stronger. Baek agreed, and put Hwoarang through his most extreme training yet.
Hwoarang was uninterested in military life and felt a strange emptiness within him. He longingly recalled the days of hustling money in street fights and the rush he experienced from hand-to-hand combat. He often thought of one fight in particular, the fight against Jin Kazama. These longings could not be quelled by the military. One day, Hwoarang found out about the announcement of the next Tournament. Hwoarang's blood stirred. He would defeat Jin, Heihachi Mishima, and anyone else who dared to challenge him to claim the Mishima Zaibatsu. Filled with excitement he has not felt in years, Hwoarang slipped out from the military base and headed for the Tournament.
Tekken 6[]
During the events of Tekken 6, Hwoarang led a group of rebel fighters called The Resistance against the Mishima Zaibatsu (with Jin at its helm, the conglomerate had begun instigating and engaging in war across the globe). Lars Alexandersson and Alisa Bosconovitch encountered Hwoarang during this time, and Alisa noted that his personal feelings about Jin Kazama were compromising The Resistance's fight against the Zaibatsu.
Tekken 7[]
Some time after Hwoarang's encounter with Lars, Jin Kazama vanished. Hwoarang suspected that there was more to Jin's disappearance than met the eye, and followed a lead to the Middle East, where he encountered Devil Jin. This time, Hwoarang was able to defeat Devil Jin. Forces from the United Nations, who were looking to apprehend Jin, appeared on the scene, and Hwoarang lost sight of Jin in the interference.
Tekken 8[]
Hwoarang returned home and resumed training. Unsatisfied with his victory against Devil Jin, he reflected on what it was he really wanted. He would go on to enter the Asia Preliminaries in G Corporation's eighth King of Iron Fist Tournament, where Jin Kazama was also in attendance. Hwoarang reached the semifinals. Following Jin Kazama's victory against Reina, Hwoarang entered the ring in defiance of the tournament brackets, challenging Jin there and then. They fought, with Jin eventually claiming the win by tapping into his devil powers without fully transforming or losing control. Hwoarang remarked on Jin's 'weird-ass abilities', but noted that they were ultimately just another part of Jin.
Hwoarang traveled to the Coliseum in Italy to spectate the eighth King of Iron Fist Tournament's main tournament. Asuka Kazama asked him if he was there to support Jin; Hwoarang denied that he was, telling her instead that he was just there to take down Kazuya Mishima. When a commotion broke out between various factions in the arena, leading to Kazuya assuming his True Devil form, Hwoarang joined a cohort of fighters in combating Kazuya so that Jin could escape. He survived this encounter, and later accompanied Yggdrasil to Yakushima to assist in the fight against G Corporation's forces.
In the good ending, he is last seen riding his bike in New York.
Personality[]
Hwoarang is a hot-headed, impulsive, cocky, arrogant person who likes to boast about his skills and strength. He is rebellious and doesn't like to listen to others. The only person he ever listens to, obediently, is his beloved master Baek. Hwoarang also tends to hold a grudge against his enemies. Normally, Hwoarang is incredibly abrasive and condescending to everyone and speaks in an informal type of Korean (which based on context can be seen as very rude), yet when speaking to Baek, he becomes much more polite and starts speaking in a much more formal, respectful type of Korean. In Baek's Tag 2 ending, when he sees Baek in despair after reminiscing about killing his own father, Hwoarang pretends to have slept in (out loud) to bring Baek back to his old self. Hwoarang still wants a rematch with Jin, but won't let him be hurt by anyone else, as when a grenade is thrown their way during their fight, he kicks him out of the way and takes the hit, blinding his right eye.
Gallery[]
.png "Hwoarang (Tekken 7).png (552 KB)")
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