Hwang Hye-youn (Hangul: 황혜연; Hanja: 黃慧淵; born April 3, 1985 in Pocheon, Gyeonggi-do) is a retired female badminton player from South Korea. Hwang started playing badminton at 7, at her local elementary school. Hwang who educated at the Pocheon High School, competed at the 2002 Asian Junior Championships, and won the silver medal in the girls' team event. She entered the South Korea national team in 2004. Although she won national championships in 2005 and 2006, she wasn't known internationally until she beat reigning World Champion Xie Xingfang en route to the final of the 2006 Thailand Open. Later that year, Hwang won the bronze medal at the Doha Asian Games. Her best Superseries result came when she reached the semi-final of the 2008 All England but that year, she suffered major disappoi