Sandglass (TV series)
| Sandglass | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | 모래시계 |
| Genre | Drama |
| Format | Television series |
| Country of origin | South Korea |
| Language(s) | Korean |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 24 |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | Kim Jong Hak |
| Running time | Monday thru Thursday, 22:00 PM (KST) |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | SBS |
| Original run | 10 January 1995 – 16 February 1995 |
Sandglass is a Korean drama dealing with South Korea's politically turbulent recent past, airing on SBS in 1995. The drama lasted 24 episodes, and is one of the highest-rated dramas in Korean history.
Contents |
[edit] Synopsis
The Sandglass (The Hourglass) is the story of two men whose friendship is put to the test through the 1970s and 1980s, one of Korea's politically tumultuous periods. Park Tae-soo (Choi Min-soo), tough and loyal, grows up to become a gangster and Kang Woo-suk (Park Sang Won), smart with firm moral values, grows up to become a prosecutor. Yoon Hye-rin (Ko Hyun Jung), a beautiful and spirited daughter of a very wealthy casino owner, is a classmate of Woo-suk in college. Hye-rin is introduced to Tae-soo via Woo-suk and they subsequently fall in love.
A notable aspect of the series is its handling of the 1980 Gwangju Democratization Movement, an event during which the head of the military junta (which had taken over South Korea after the assassination of President Park Chung Hee), General Chun Doo Hwan, sent paratroopers into Kwangju to put down the rebellion resulting in a massacre of hundreds of civilians. Still a taboo subject during the airing of the series, the violent scenes (based on individual accounts), resulted in shock and grief for the South Koreans at that time (the mid 90's South Korea still had not come to terms with what happened after governments muzzled the free speech) to the extent that after the drama had gone to air, there was a visible output of films dealing with the subject (such as The Petal (1996) and Peppermint Candy (2000)) and even influenced the prosecution of ex-President Chun Doo Hwan responsible for the massacre (he was finally jailed, decades after the incident).
[edit] Cast
- Choi Min-soo as Park Tae-soo (박태수)
- Park Sang Won (박상원) as Kang Woo-suk (강우석)
- Ko Hyun Jung as Yoon Hye-rin (윤혜린)
- Lee Jung Jae as Baek Jae-hee (백재희)
[edit] Production credits
- Writer: Song Ji Na (송지나)
- Director: Kim Jong Hak (김종학)
[edit] Ratings
| episode | Seoul | Korea |
|---|---|---|
| ep. 1 | 30.7% | 29.8% |
| ep. 2 | 32.5% | 34.1% |
| ep. 3 | 36.6% | 35.9% |
| ep. 4 | 37.8% | 36.9% |
| ep. 5 | 40.3% | 40.1% |
| ep. 6 | 41.5% | 41.7% |
| ep. 7 | 43.2% | 43.3% |
| ep. 8 | 43.8% | 43.9% |
| ep. 9 | 44.1% | 44.0% |
| ep.10 | 45.9% | 46.5% |
| ep.11 | 47.0% | 47.9% |
| ep.12 | 48.3% | 48.7% |
| ep.13 | 48.5% | 48.9% |
| ep.14 | 56.6% | 55.7% |
| ep.15 | 59.1% | 59.6% |
| ep.16 | 60.0% | 60.3% |
| ep.17 | 60.1% | 60.2% |
| ep.18 | 60.2% | 60.1% |
| ep.19 | 60.3% | 61.6% |
| ep.20 | 60.6% | 64.1% |
| ep.21 | 63.4% | 65.7% |
| ep.22 | 63.3% | 64.4% |
| ep. 23 | 63.9% | 62.1% |
| ep.24 | 64.5% | 64.3% |
| average | 50.5% | 50.8% |
[edit] Trivia
- Traffic was visibly lighter and pubs reported slow business as government officials, students and office workers alike headed home early to watch Sandglass, each Monday through Thursday evenings.
- Sandglass remains one of the highest-rated TV series in Korean broadcasting history:
- 첫사랑 - First Love (65.8% / 1997-04-20 / KBS2)
- 사랑이 뭐길래 - What is Love? (64.9% / 1992-05-24 / MBC)
- 모래시계 - Sandglass (64.5% / 1995-02-06 / SBS)
- 허준 - Heo Jun (63.8% / 2000-06-27 / MBC)
- 젊은이의 양지 - Youth's Sunny Place (62.7% / 1995-11-12 / KBS2)
- 그대 그리고 나 - You and I (62.4% / 1998-04-12 / MBC)
- 아들과 딸 - Son and Daughter (61.1% / 1993-03-21 / MBC)
- 태조왕건 - Taejo Wang Geon (60.2% / 2001-05-20 / KBS1)
- 여명의 눈동자 - Eye of Dawn (58.4% / 1992-02-06 / MBC)
- 대장금 - Dae Jang Geum (57.8% / 2004-03-23 / MBC)
- A song, titled Zhuravli or crane, by a Russian singer Joseph Kobzon was featured in the show. Although many Koreans do not understand the lyrics, it is still one of the most widely recognized song in Korea thanks to the popularity of the show. The song actually mourns the Soviet soldiers killed while defending their homeland and who later became cranes. The lyrics blend well with the theme of the show since one of the major plot devices of the show, the Gwangju Massacre, commemorates the dead who were caught in the middle of the tragedy. Link to the Korean Blog featuring the song and the Russian lyrics.
- Many other songs featured in the show, like guitar rearranged version of Paganini Sonata in Em by Oh Seung Kook, are almost instantly recognized by most Korean adults and then teenagers who watched the show. YouTube link of Oh Seung Kook playing his version of Paganini Sonata in Em.
[edit] Awards
- 31st Baeksang Awards (1995): Daesang (Grand Prize), Best Drama, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Actor (Choi Min-soo), Best New Actor (Lee Jung Jae)
- 22nd Korean Broadcasting Awards (1995): Best Drama, Best Writer, Best Actor (Choi Min-soo)
- 8th Producers Association Awards (1996): Daesang (Grand Prize), Best Drama
