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Sandglass Across Korea: 3 Spots (1 Confirmed)

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Jeongdongjin Station — a Sandglass filming location (location photo, not a drama still)
Photo: 최광모 / Wikimedia Commons, CC0 · CC0
VERIFIED 1 confirmed
1 reported
BASE Gangneung
for Jeongdongjin
ENTRY Free to look;
station in use
CHECKED Oct 3, 2026

Sandglass, one of the most-watched Korean dramas ever, turned a quiet station on the east coast into a national sunrise spot. Jeongdongjin is still the place to start; the Gwangju scenes and a stone bridge in Jincheon are far apart and best treated as separate trips.

Three places in three provinces: plan each as its own day. A hospital used in the Gwangju scenes is not listed.

Confirmed
backed by two or more official or press sources.
Reported
one official or press source.
Fan-spotted
identified by Korean fan researchers by matching scenes; not yet confirmed by official sources.
How we verify →

STOPS

Places marked Fan-spotted appear in the drama, according to fan researchers.

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Gangneung

1 place in Gangneung.

Confirmed · 3 sources cited · Checked Oct 3, 2026

1. Jeongdongjin Station

정동진역
Jeongdongjin Station (location photo, not a drama still)
Photo: 최광모 / Wikimedia Commons, CC0

In the drama's best-known scene, Hye-rin waits at the seaside platform before she is arrested, according to Gangneung City and VisitKorea. A pine by the tracks is still called the Sandglass pine.

GETTING THERE On the Yeongdong Line in Gangneung. Check Korail for trains to Jeongdongjin. COST / TIME Free to look from outside; the station is in use, so check Korail for access to the platform. ACCESS A working railway station by the beach, now a sunrise spot. The area around it has grown since 1995.

More filming locations in Gangwon

The site has changed since filming.

LAST MILE

Bus numbers and times are not listed here. Check the local bus app, or use the Kakao Map and Naver Map links on this card for today's route.

Getting around Korea →

Open in Google Maps ↗ Open in Naver Map ↗ Open in Kakao Map ↗

Plan the trip with Naver Map or Kakao Map or Korail (trains).

SOURCES (3)
  1. Gangneung City tourism portal: Jeongdongjin
  2. VisitKorea: Jeongdongjin Station
  3. Korea Herald (Jul 4, 2014)

Gwangju

1 place in Gwangju.

Reported · 1 source cited · Checked Oct 3, 2026

2. Former South Jeolla Provincial Office

옛 전남도청
Former South Jeolla Provincial Office (location photo, not a drama still)
Photo: Neoalpha / Wikimedia Commons, CC0

The drama's May 1980 Gwangju scenes used the former South Jeolla Provincial Office, with the city lending its main roads for filming, according to Kyunghyang Shinmun. A second source has not confirmed this place yet.

GETTING THERE Central Gwangju. Check Korail for trains to Gwangju, then plan the last leg with the Kakao Map and Naver Map links on this card. ACCESS A site of the May 18 Democratic Uprising, now part of the National Asia Culture Center complex. Please visit respectfully; check the center's site for opening hours.

More filming locations in Jeonnam-Gwangju

The site has changed since filming.

LAST MILE

Bus numbers and times are not listed here. Check the local bus app, or use the Kakao Map and Naver Map links on this card for today's route.

Getting around Korea →

Open in Google Maps ↗ Open in Naver Map ↗ Open in Kakao Map ↗

Plan the trip with Naver Map or Kakao Map or Korail (trains).

SOURCES (1)
  1. Kyunghyang Shinmun retrospective (May 14, 2015)

Jincheon

1 place in Jincheon.

Fan-spotted · 1 fan source cited · Checked Oct 3, 2026

3. Jincheon Nongdari Stone Bridge

진천 농다리
Jincheon Nongdari Stone Bridge (location photo, not a drama still)
Photo: Black207 / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
GETTING THERE Jincheon County. Plan the trip with the Kakao Map and Naver Map links on this card. ACCESS A centuries-old stone bridge across a stream. Check Jincheon County's tourism site for walking paths.

More filming locations in North Chungcheong

Fan source: Travel bloggers' Chungbuk fam-tour post

LAST MILE

Bus numbers and times are not listed here. Check the local bus app, or use the Kakao Map and Naver Map links on this card for today's route.

Getting around Korea →

Open in Google Maps ↗ Open in Naver Map ↗ Open in Kakao Map ↗

Plan the trip with Naver Map or Kakao Map or Korail (trains).

SOURCES (1)
  1. Travel bloggers' Chungbuk fam-tour post

PLACES WE COULDN'T VERIFY

NOT VERIFIED YET
  • Other places from the 1995 shoot. Search results mention more, but no official or press source we could read names them.
ON OFFICIAL LISTS, NOT COVERED HERE
  • A Gwangju hospital used in the May 1980 scenes (hospitals are not listed on this site).
  • Jeongdongjin's Sandglass Park, a later attraction built around a giant sandglass. It is not a filming location.

WHERE TO STAY

AFFILIATE LINKS · DISCLOSURE

Neighborhood hotel searches, not recommendations.

JeongdongjinNext to the station, for sunrise.Hotels on Expedia →Gangneung cityKTX arrival city.Hotels on Expedia →

MORE DETAIL

Last checked: Oct 3, 2026

A station that became a destination

Sandglass (SBS, 1995) follows three friends through Korea’s political turmoil of the 1970s and 1980s. Its most famous image is a woman waiting on a platform with the sea right behind her. That platform is Jeongdongjin Station in Gangneung, and the drama turned it from a quiet stop into one of Korea’s best-known sunrise spots.

Gangneung: Jeongdongjin

Jeongdongjin sits on the coast south of Gangneung city. The station is still in use, and a pine by the tracks still carries the drama’s name. Sandglass Park, nearby, was built later and is not a filming location.

Gwangju

The drama’s May 1980 episodes were filmed in Gwangju. The former South Jeolla Provincial Office, a key site of the May 18 Democratic Uprising, is now part of the National Asia Culture Center complex. Visit it as a memorial site first.

Jincheon

Fans connect the Nongdari stone bridge in Jincheon to the drama, so it is listed here as fan-spotted.

Getting there

These places are in three different provinces. For Jeongdongjin, check Korail for trains on the Yeongdong Line, or take the KTX to Gangneung and plan the last leg on Naver Map (English UI). For Gwangju, check Korail for trains to Gwangju. For Jincheon, plan the route on Naver Map or Kakao Map.

Sources

All sources for this guide

Accessed Oct 3, 2026 (Asia/Seoul) unless noted.

  1. Gangneung City tourism portal — Jeongdongjin
  2. VisitKorea — Jeongdongjin Station
  3. Korea Herald — Home of ‘The Hourglass’ looks to expand tourism reach (Jul 4, 2014)
  4. Kyunghyang Shinmun — Sandglass retrospective (May 14, 2015)
  5. VisitKorea — Jeongdongjin Sandglass Park

New to transit in Korea? See Getting around Korea for map apps, transit cards and train booking.

FAQ

Is the Sandglass pine still at Jeongdongjin Station?
Gangneung City and VisitKorea still describe a pine by the tracks known by the drama's name. The station is in use, so check Korail before you go onto the platform.
Was Sandglass Park a filming location?
No. It is a later attraction near the station, built around a giant sandglass.

OTHER FILMING SPOTS NEARBY

Some locations were first identified by Korean fan researchers. Travel bloggers' Chungbuk fam-tour post