Hwoarang

Hwoarang
'Tekken series character
File:Hwoarang (T5 DR).jpg Hwoarang in Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection.
First game	Tekken 3

Korean name
Hangul	화랑
Hanja	花郞
Revised Romanization	Hwarang
McCune–Reischauer	Hwarang

Hwoarang is a fictional Korean character in the Tekken game series. Hwoarang takes his name after the ITF taekwondo pattern Hwa-rang (화랑/花郎) which he demonstrates in the real time arcade opening sequence of Tekken 3. Hwa-Rang is named after the Hwarang youth group which originated in the Silla Dynasty in the early 7th century. The group eventually became the actual driving force for the unification of the three Kingdoms of Korea. Hwoarang is one of the few characters whose final boss in Tekken 4 is not Heihachi Mishima and whose sub-boss in Tekken 5 is not Devil Jin. Instead, Jin Kazama fills both respective roles in these games.

History

Tekken 3

Hwoarang is a student of Baek Doo San and well-versed in the martial art of taekwondo (Moo Duk Kwan style. 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 dojang, he saw the dojang 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.

Tekken 4

In Tekken 4, 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.

Tekken 5

In Tekken 5, 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.

Tekken 6

In Tekken 5 Hwoarang faced Jin and defeated him. While Jin was lying on the ground, suddenly he roars paranormally and produces a gale that blows Hwoarang away. From Jin's back, two black wings spread and Jin rises with his devil form. Hwoarang is at his wits end - he is unable to fight back and soon he is knocked unconscious. When Hwoarang wakes up he finds himself in the hospital. Nearby he sees Baek standing as a visitor. Hwoarang hears the details from Baek. He ignores his nurse, tries to move from his bed, but falls down in order to beseech Baek to make him stronger. After leaving the Hospital, Hwoarang starts training with unprecedented devoutness in order to defeat the "paranormal" Jin. Thus with the announcement of "King of Iron Fist" tournament 6 he prepares to enter the tournament.

Endings

Tekken 3

Hwoarang is sitting at the edge of a dock holding a trophy that is shaped like Heihachi Mishima's head. He prepares to throw the trophy into the water. Suddenly, he sees Jin Kazama running into a warehouse, with Tekken Force soldiers following him. Hwoarang follows them. He throws his trophy into the warehouse, and then begins to fight the Tekken Force soldiers. After he finishes, he looks at Jin, who is now glowing with energy. After watching Jin jump an inhuman height through a window, Hwoarang looks at his own hands and smiles.

Tekken Tag Tournament

Hwoarang and Jin are standing in an urban area, which appears to be Paul Phoenix's stage. Hwoarang appears to be challenging Jin to a fight, but Jin is not listening.

Tekken 4

Jin and Hwoarang confront one another in a parking lot and a fight ensues. Suddenly, Korean soldiers interrupt the battle to apprehend Hwoarang. Hwoarang and Jin team up and fight the soldiers, and Hwoarang reminds Jin that he "kicked his ass" and that they'll conclude their rivalry at the next tournament.

Tekken 5

Hwoarang defeated his rival, Jin, at The King of Iron Fist Tournament 5. His greatest desire fulfilled, Hwoarang rides on his motorcycle, speeding along the freeway, mumbling to himself, "This sucks!" Suddenly, Hwoarang looks ahead to find Devil Jin standing in the road ahead. Hwoarang tries to skid his motorcycle to a stop, but Devil Jin raises his hand and seemingly blows up his motorcycle psychokinetically. Hwoarang is thrown from the explosion and rolls along the pavement. As he gets to his feet, he sees a smirking Devil Jin approaching, surrounded by flames. Weary and hurt, Hwoarang gets to his feet, challenging Devil Jin by saying "You stupid...come on!" As he prepares for this new foe, a grin appears on Hwoarang's face.

Fighting Style

Hwoarang is mainly an offensive character. His moves allow him to chain kick and punch attacks while transitioning between his Left and Right Flamingo stances, and his Left-Foot-Forward (default) and Right-Foot-Forward stances, each having different offensive possibilities. His style is significantly different from his master Baek, who has faster transitions, but is limited to Left flamingo stance only and is more linear. Baek, though, can parry punches while Hwoarang only has the universal low parry (available to all characters).

Motion capture actor

The original motion capture actor who plays Hwoarang in Tekken 3 is Su-Il Hwang of the 'Japan International Taekwon-Do Federation' (Japan ITF). This is why Hwoarang can be seen performing segments of the ITF patterns Hwa-Rang and Sam-Il in several of the games.

Voice actors

In Tekken 3, though there was no dialogue, Hwoarang was voiced by Toshiyuki Morikawa. In Tekken 4, Hwoarang was voiced by an English-speaking voice actor, except in versions released in Korea, where he and the sergeant spoke Korean. Hwoarang was voiced by a Korean-speaking voice actor (alongside Baek Doo San) in all versions of Tekken 5.

External links

• Hwoarang - Tekken 5: DR - Moves List (U.S.)
• Movie of Hwoarang performing the ITF Taekwon-Do pattern "Hwa-Rang" in the Tekken 3 real time intro