Sandglass is a South Korean television series. It is one of the highest-rated Korean dramas in history, and is also considered one of the most significant. Written by Song Ji-na, directed by Kim Jong-hak and produced by their own company Jcom, it aired on SBS in 1995 in 24 episodes. A depiction of the tragic relationship among three friends affected by the political and civilian oppression of 1970s and 1980s Korea, the series mixed politics, melodrama, and action. It recorded a peak rating of 64.5%, the fourth highest of all time, and launched its leading trio of Choi Min-soo, Go Hyun-jung, and Park Sang-won into stardom. Its reenactment of the Gwangju Uprising has been called one of the most realistic and memorable moments in Korean TV history.
Synopsis
Sandglass 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, tough and loyal, grows up to become a gangster. Kang Woo-suk, smart with firm moral values, grows up to become a prosecutor. Yoon Hye-rin, 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 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, General Chun Doo-hwan, sent paratroopers into Gwangju to put down the uprising resulting in a massacre of hundreds of civilians. A taboo subject during the airing of the series, the violent scenes resulted in shock and grief for the South Koreans at that time. After the drama aired, there was a visible output of films dealing with the subject and Peppermint Candy ). It even influenced the prosecution of ex-President Chun Doo-hwan responsible for the massacre.
Cast
Choi Min-soo as Park Tae-soo
Park Sang-won as Kang Woo-suk
Go Hyun-jung as Yoon Hye-rin
Lee Jung-jae as Baek Jae-hee
Park Geun-hyung as President Yoon, Hye-rin's father
Jung Sung-mo as Lee Jong-do
Jo Min-su as Woo-suk's wife
Lee Seung-yeon as Reporter Shin
Kim Jong-gyul as Lawyer Min
Jo Kyung-hwan
Kim Byung-ki as Kang Dong-hwan
Jo Hyung-ki
Kim In-moon as Tae-soo's father
Jang Hang-sun
Kim Young-ae as Tae-soo's mother
Im Hyun-sik as assistant prosecutor
Kim Jung-hyun
Hong Kyung-in
Lee Hee-do
Maeng Sang-hoon
Lee Doo-il
Park Young-ji
Son Hyun-joo
Jung Myung-hwan
Kim Jung-hak
Han Kyung-sun
Choi Jae-ho
Kim Myung-gook
Do Yong-gook
Park Sang-jo
Ratings
In the table below, the blue numbers represent the lowest ratings and the red numbers represent the highest ratings.
Episode
Seoul
Nationwide
1
2
32.5%
34.1%
3
36.6%
35.9%
4
37.8%
36.9%
5
40.3%
40.1%
6
41.5%
41.7%
7
43.2%
43.3%
8
43.8%
43.9%
9
44.1%
44.0%
10
45.9%
46.5%
11
47.0%
47.9%
12
48.3%
48.7%
13
48.5%
48.9%
14
56.6%
55.7%
15
59.1%
59.6%
16
60.0%
60.3%
17
60.1%
60.2%
18
60.2%
60.1%
19
60.3%
61.6%
20
60.6%
64.1%
21
63.4%
22
63.3%
64.4%
23
63.9%
62.1%
24
64.3%
Average
Reception
Traffic was visibly lighter and pubs reported slow business as government officials, students and office workers alike headed home early to watch Sandglass every Monday through Thursday evenings. Sandglass remains one of the highest-rated TV series in Korean broadcasting history :
A song, titled "Zhuravli", by a Russian singer Joseph Kobzon was featured in the series. Although many Koreans did not understand the lyrics, it is still one of the most widely recognized song in Korea thanks to the show's popularity. 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.
As a tribute to the late director Kim Jong-hak, cable subsidiary SBS Plus aired reruns of Sandglass from July 29 to August 15, 2013 at 20:40 every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, with two consecutive episodes per night. This was exactly how the show was originally broadcast in 1995.
