Hwang Jae-gyun [Tving Sports SNS]
Hwang Jae-gyun [Tving Sports SNS]

Former baseball player turned broadcaster Hwang Jae-gyun is drawing attention for his noticeably slimmer frame and long hair compared to his playing days.

Hwang appeared Tuesday in a short video posted to Tving Sports' official social media account under the title "A Runaway Slave Has Appeared on Tving."

In the clip, Hwang has his hair — grown nearly to shoulder length — tied back. His sharper facial features, a result of his leaner build since his playing days, also caught viewers' eyes.

Visibly surprised, a producer remarked, "It's Tuesday — you look exactly like Jang Hyuk," to which Hwang quipped "Chuno" — a reference to the drama series in which actor Jang Hyuk starred — and added, "I need to go hunt someone down," playing up the comparison.

Hwang said he is growing his hair "until it's long enough to tie back," joking that he plans to keep it long until comments telling him to cut it stop appearing. "If even one comment like that shows up, I'll keep growing it," he said, adding that if no such comments appear, he would post one himself just to have an excuse to keep it long.

Online reactions ranged from "He looks like Jang Chen" and "He got even more handsome" to "Most players put on weight after retiring because they exercise less — Hwang is the opposite."

Hwang married Jiyeon, a former member of the K-pop group T-ara, in 2022, but the two divorced in 2024. He retired from professional baseball last year and this year signed an exclusive contract with SM Culture & Contents, launching a second career as a broadcaster. In a video posted about two months ago, he revealed he had "no income at all this year."


paq@heraldcorp.com