[3] Hwang was born in Seoul, South Korea and emigrated to the United States as a teen.
[6] Hwang did her undergraduate work at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
[1][9] Hwang's work incorporates both drums and folk music from Korea in her compositions.
[10] Her work on Beckoning (2012) "augments solo cello with Korean drums to evoke memories of her childhood in Seoul, Korea.
"[11] Her piece, Sojourn (2004), uses traditional Korean drum rhythms and the piano.