Pohang Steelers On 9 November 2010, Hwang returned to his former team
Pohang Steelers as a new manager. He guided Pohang to the second place in the regular season of the
2011 K-League, and a
Korean FA Cup title in 2012. He preferred the club's youth players to foreign players, and completed high-quality teamwork nicknamed the "Steel-taka". He became one of the most notable managers in South Korea after winning the
K League 1 and the Korean FA Cup simultaneously in 2013.
FC Seoul On 21 June 2016, Hwang was appointed manager of another
K League 1 club
FC Seoul. He successfully finished the rest of the 2016 season by bringing the
K League 1 title. However, his discernment in the transfer market was not good and newcomers chosen by him showed poor performances. He was also in severe conflict with veteran players
Dejan Damjanović,
Osmar and
Park Chu-young, failing to control them. Due to his poor results in subsequent seasons, he finally resigned on 30 April 2018.
Yanbian Funde On 14 December 2018, Hwang was appointed manager of
Yanbian Funde. He left the club after Yanbian Funde were disqualified for the
2019 China League One due to their back taxes in February 2019.
Daejeon Hana Citizen K League 2 club Daejeon Citizen were reorganised under the name of
Daejeon Hana Citizen by their new owners
Hana Financial Group before the 2020 season, and chose Hwang as their first manager on the recommendation of
Huh Jung-moo, their director and Hwang's former mentor. Hwang was criticised for his tactics by the board during the season and also came into conflict with Huh. As a result, he left Daejeon in the middle of the season.
South Korea U23 Hwang was selected as manager of the
South Korea under-23 team in September 2021, but worried a considerable number of Koreans due to his poor results at Seoul and Daejeon. He once again had difficulty bringing a successful outcome by being eliminated in the quarter-finals of the
2022 AFC U-23 Asian Cup after a 3–0 defeat to
Japan. Afterwards, he won all seven matches at the
2022 Asian Games, making a chance to rehabilitate himself. He was also appointed interim manager of the
senior national team on 27 February 2024. However, his managerial career did not go into reverse, with South Korea failing to qualify for the
Olympic football for the first time in 40 years since
1984. His team were eliminated in the
U-23 Asian Cup quarter-finals once more after suffering a penalty shoot-out defeat to
Indonesia.
South Korea In February 2024, Hwang was chosen as
South Korea's caretaker manager, replacing
Jürgen Klinsmann to prepare for two
FIFA World Cup qualifiers against
Thailand. Under his short-lived tenure, South Korea were held to a shock 1–1 draw at home, but gained a 3–0 away win.
Return to Daejeon On 5 June 2024, Hwang received one more opportunity from Daejeon Hana Citizen, who were promoted to the K League 1 after he left. The continuation of his managerial career caused controversy, but he succeeded in helping them escape the relegation zone that year. The next year, his team finished second at the league, qualifying for the
2026–27 AFC Champions League Elite. ==Career statistics==