Judge Hwang In-tae (44), the "first Korean NBA referee," finally achieved his dream.

Monty McCutchen, vice chairman of the NBA Referee Development Education Department, said on the 11th, "NBA G League referees Hwang In-tae and Sharae Mitchell will be appointed full-time NBA referees for the 2023-24 season. Those with fantastic abilities have qualified themselves to work full time in the NBA," he announced.

Last season, referee Hwang In-tae was a kind of contract worker as a non-staff official. In the G League, he drew attention when he was a referee in Lee Hyun-joong's game. He blew the whistle seven times in the NBA regular season. Based on last season's performance, Hwang was promoted to an official judge by recognizing Hwang's ability in the NBA. Judge Hwang, who has been in his fourth year or less, has mainly gained experience in the G League according to regulations and will be in charge of judging in official NBA games.

OSEN held an exclusive interview with referee Hwang In-tae for the first time in Korean media in March. It's very difficult to have an interview with an NBA referee. Fortunately, thanks to his title of "the first Korean" the NBA Secretariat provided a special video interview.

Judge Hwang In-tae, who said at the time that his goal was to become a full-time referee, achieved his dream just seven months after the interview with a reporter. The interview with referee Hwang In-tae will be released once again.

- I'm reporter Seo Jeonghwan of OSEN. Thank you for your good time. Please introduce yourself briefly for your readers. 스포츠토토

Hello, I'm referee Hwang In-tae. After playing as a referee for 11 and a half seasons in the KBL, he came to the United States in January 2020 and was hired by the G League in June last year. I'm a referee in my second year (currently in my third year) this year.

(Hwang began his career as a referee at the Korea Basketball Association in 2004. He is a veteran referee who played 466 games in the KBL from 2008 to 2019. As an international referee, she is the Korean national referee who also served as a referee in the 2016 Rio Olympics women's basketball finals and other big stages.)

- How did it feel to be the first Korean NBA referee?

I'm not an official NBA referee yet. It's called Nonstaff official, so NBA games started early in the season, and now they're mostly entering G League games. There is a chance that he will be a full-time NBA referee in the future.

(Seven months after the interview with the reporter, referee Hwang In-tae finally achieved his dream ahead of the 2023-24 season.)

Of course, I was so happy when I said I became an NBA referee. I had a lot of responsibility. There were a lot of emotions. As soon as I first came to the U.S., COVID-19 broke out. It was a great comfort for my wife and children to come to the U.S. together.

- Made his referee debut in the Phoenix vs Houston regular season game last October?

It was actually the second game. The first one went into the pre-season game. Utah versus Denver was the first game. When I first went in, I was overwhelmed because I thought, "This is the NBA!" I was nervous.

- Did you have any special feelings when you saw star players such as LeBron James?

In fact, judges and ordinary people have different views. Rather than looking at a specific player as a referee, when entering the game, I go in saying, "I need to be more fair" and "I need to watch it well!" Of course, the LeBron game went in, but it wasn't important as a referee. There is no such thing as looking after a particular player. It's something that's supposed to happen.

- What was difficult while working as a referee in the United States?

In the United States, the profession of refereeing is called Negative Base Business. You have to blame others. All the judges work hard. I was very lucky.

The hardest part was the language and culture. I thought I was good at English because I had been doing international trials for a long time, but I wasn't good at English when I came to the U.S. I had to start studying English anew. When I went to an international competition, it didn't matter how I used Konglish because the purpose was to communicate. American English was completely different.

- I wonder how the game allocation is done. There's a lot of games and a long travel distance, right?

I usually get notified by email 15 days before the game and travel by plane. It was never particularly difficult to make travel plans early. However, there was a time when the flight was delayed or canceled due to the bad weather because it was winter. So I tend to plan my flight early.

- Some point out that the recent NBA judgment criteria are too commercial?

There is only one NBA rulebook. The referee only makes a decision according to the rulebook.

- Lee Hyun-joong became a hot topic in Korea as a referee in the game, did you say hello?

You can't talk about a particular team or player. The profession of refereeing is not the main character like a player. Even when I met Lee Hyun-joong, I simply greeted him in Korean.

- There must be many junior referees who dream of entering the NBA like referee Hwang In-tae, so what would you like to give them some advice?

I don't think I'm in a position to advise anyone yet. I'd like to know if there's such a thing. However, you have to take good care of your physical strength, study the language, and stick to the basics.

- What's your goal as a referee?

Being here now is continuing to go beyond my dreams. It's more about being an NBA referee (full time) than a further goal. I want to play well when I go into one game.

Thank you for your precious time even though you're busy. I wish you good health.