He gained prominence for appearing in the films Drunken Master (1978) and Snake in the Eagle's Shadow (1978), both opposite Jackie Chan, and Hitman in the Hand of Buddha (1981), which marked his directorial debut.
[3][4] He collaborated with Hong Kong filmmaker Corey Yuen on several films, including Snuff Bottle Connection, Secret Rivals 2, The Invincible Armour (all 1977), Dance of the Drunk Mantis (1979), Ninja in the Dragon's Den (1982), and Millionaires Express (1986).
Hwang is a martial arts instructor with the World Tang Soo Do General Federation and serves as technical adviser.
[8][9] In 2013, Hwang completed a tour of the U.S. and Canada in which he, along with other Korean Grandmasters, promoted the study and practice of traditional martial arts.
"[11] He considers Jackie Chan, Yuen Biao, Lo Lieh, Ti Lung, and Sammo Hung as the top five kung-fu fighters.
In 1976, Ng See-yuen offered Hwang employment in Hong Kong, where he first appeared in Secret Rivals as the villain Silver Fox.
[citation needed] In the mid-1970s, Hwang appeared in two Jackie Chan movies, Snake in the Eagle's Shadow as Sheng Kuan and Drunken Master as Thunderfoot (Thunder Leg).
In 1987, Hwang trained German actor Matthias Hues in preparation for the latter's film debut as Yuri the Russian in No Retreat, No Surrender 2.
He was also featured in the documentary "The Anonymous King," in which Jon James Hodson examines Hwang's personal life in Seoul, Korea and Hong Kong.