Sandglass

Details

Title: 모래시계 / Mo-rae-shi-gae
Also known as: Hourglass
Genre: Epic, Drama, Romance, Action, Crime
Episodes: 24
Broadcast network: SBS
Broadcast period: Jan. 10, 1995 - Feb. 16, 1995
Air time: Monday through Thursday 10:00 PM

Synopsis

The Sandglass is a portrayal of two young men who are best friends and grow up during one of Korea's politically tumultuous periods, the 1970's up to the 1980's. Tae-soo (Choi Min Soo), tough and loyal, grows up to become a gangster and Woo-suk (Park Sang Won), smart with firm moral values, grows up to become a prosecutor. 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.

One unforgettable subject that's dealt in the drama is the 1980 Kwangju rebellion when the head of the military junta that took over Korea after the assasination of President Park Chung-hee, General Chun Doo-hwan, sent paratroopers into Kwangju to put down the rebellion. What happened was the subsequent massacre of hundreds of innocent people. The horrific scenes based on true accounts, of those people being murdered, touched off a deep sense of shock and grief for the Koreans at that time (the mid 90's Korea still had not come to terms with what happened after governments muzzled the free speech). After this drama went on air, there were more films that were made dealing with this very subject, such as The Petal (1996) and Peppermint Candy (2000). It also put ex-President Chun Doo-hwan who was responsible for the massacre, in jail. You can probably say that Moreshigae was the turning point for the young budding democracy in Korea.

Cast

Choi Min Soo as Tae-soo
Park Sang Won as Woo-suk
Ko Hyun Jung as Hye-rin
Lee Jung Jae as Jae-hee

Production Credits

Writer: Song Ji Na
Director: Kim Jong Hak

Trivia

Traffic was visibly lighter and pubs reported slow business as government officials, students and office workers alike headed home early to watch The Sandglass, each Monday through Thursday evenings.
The Sandglass remains one of the highest-rated TV series in Korean broadcasting history:

첫사랑 - First Love (65.8% / 1997-04-20 / KBS2)
사랑쿴 뭿길래 - What is Love? (64.9% / 1992-05-24 / MBC)
모래시계 - The Sandglass (64.5% / 1995-02-06 / SBS)
허준 - Huh Joon (63.8% / 2000-06-27 / MBC)
젊쿀쿴쿘 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 - Emperor Wang Gun (60.2% / 2001-05-20 / KBS1)
여명쿘 눈뿙잿 - Eye of Dawn (58.4% / 1992-02-06 / MBC)
대장금 - Dae Jang Geum (57.8% / 2004-03-23 / MBC)

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

External Links