Hwang Hee-chan's 'wrist kiss' at World Cup directed toward grandparents

Hwang Hee-chan, who led the Korean national football team to advance to the round of 16 at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, visited his grandparents Thursday and revealed that they were who he was aiming his "wrist kiss" to during the matches.

Hwang Hee-chan celebrates after scoring a winning goal against Portugal on Dec. 3, 2022. [NEWS1]

Hwang Hee-chan, who led the Korean national football team to advance to the round of 16 at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, visited his grandparents Thursday and revealed that they were who he was aiming his "wrist kiss" to during the matches.

Hwang returned to Korea along with his teammates on Wednesday afternoon and was greeted by a welcome party at Incheon International Airport. He later posted a picture on his Instagram account at around 8 p.m. Wednesday.

In the photo, Hwang is smiling broadly while sitting with his grandparents. His grandmother holds Hwang's Player of the Match trophy, which he had received after scoring a dramatic goal in the third Group H match against Portugal on Dec. 3.

Hwang, who had been substituted in in the second half of the match against Portugal, scored the wining goal with the help of Son Heung-min, the team captain. With this goal, Korea was able to advance to the second place in the group and climbed to the round of 16 in the World Cup tournament for the first time in 12 years.

Hwang Hee-chan poses for a photo with his grandparents at their home on Wednesday. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Immediately after scoring the goal, Hwang celebrated by taking off his jersey and planting a kiss on his left wrist. Many have since speculated for whom the kiss was meant.

It turns out that the "wrist kiss" was for his grandparents.

Hwang grew up under the care of his grandparents as a child, because both of his parents worked. In an 2018 interview with a local broadcaster, Hwang had said that "my grandparents mean so much to me that I can't really express it in words," and that "they are everything in my life." Hwang also has the names of his grandparents tattooed on his left wrist.

"These tattoos are copied off of my grandparents' own handwriting," said Hwang. "I miss them so much while playing abroad, and I think of them even more when I score a goal. So I keep this tattoo close with me to remind me of them."

Meanwhile, Hwang said that he is looking forward to "enjoying the results of the World Cup as a Korean citizen now" and that he "wants to improve not only with the national team but also with my contracted team."

"I was very happy that we were able to reach the round of 16 with my goal," said Hwang. "I feel proud to be Korean."

BY JEONG HYE-JEONG [lim.jeongwon@joongang.co.kr]