Eyes of Dawn () is a South Korean television series starring Chae Shi-ra, Park Sang-won and Choi Jae-sung. Directed by Kim Jong-hak and written by Song Ji-na based on the 10-volume novel of the same name by Kim Seong-jong (published in 1981), the story spans the years from the Japanese colonial period to World War II, Korea's liberation and the Korean War.
With a budget of , overseas shoots in China and the Philippines, over 270 actors and 21,000 extras, Eyes of Dawn was one of the first Korean dramas to be shot in its entirety before broadcast and the largest scale Korean television production of its time. It aired on MBC from October 7, 1991, to February 6, 1992, for 36 episodes, and reached a peak viewership rating of 58.4%, making it the 9th highest-rated Korean drama of all time. In 1992, MBC sold Eyes of Dawn to the Turkish Radio and Television Corporation, becoming the first Korean drama exported to a European country.
Cast
Chae Shi-ra as Yoon Yeo-ok Park Sang-won as Jang Ha-rim Choi Jae-sung as Choi Dae-chi Choi Bool-am as Yoon Hong-chul, Yeo-ok's father Park Geun-hyung as Choi Du-il (Suzuki) Lee Jung-gil as Kim Ki-mun Jang Hang-sun as OOE Oh Jang Park In-hwan as Private Gu Bo-da Im Hyun-sik as Hwang Sung-chul Kim Heung-ki as Daewi Mida Yoshinori Han Cha-dol as Choi Dae-woon, Dae-chi and Yeo-ok's son Oh Yeon-soo as Bong-soon Go Hyun-jung as Ahn Myeong-ji Choi Hyun-mi as Lee Kyeong-ae Shim Yang-hong as Lawyer Park Chang-seok Nam Sung-hoon as Baek In-soo Lee Chang-hwan as President Syngman Rhee Min Ji-hwan as Unit 731 director Shirō Ishii Kim Ki-joo as 15th Army commander Renya Mutaguchi Kim Du-sam as "Maruta" military police Kim Dong-hyun as Jang Kyung-rim, Ha-rim's older brother Kim So-won as Ha-rim and Kyung-rim's mother Ahn Hye-sook as Kyung-rim's wife Cheon Woon as General Hwang Kim In-moon as Lee Min-seob Gook Jeong-hwan as Kim Deok-jae Shin Dong-hoon as Leader Park Yong-soo as Lee Joo-hwan Byun Hee-bong as Park Chun-geum Hong Sung-min as Kwak Chun-bu Lee Won-jae as Jo Gwi-mun Kim Young-ok as Elder Kim Kim Ji-young as Miss Ahn Choi Sang-hoon as General Kim Chung Jin as Go Chang-dae Nam Po-dong as Bu Tae-jong Yoo Seung-bong as Kim Jeong-sik Lee Dae-ro as Ahn Jae-hong Choi Myung-soo as Jo Byung-ok Park Woong as Noh Il-young Lee Hyo-jung as Kim Ik-ryul Choi Byung-hak as Chief of police Moon Park Young-ji as Detective Oh Kim Young-seok as Constable Song Park Se-joon as Lieutenant Moon Jung Dong-hwan as Prosecutor Kim Seung-won Jung Han-heon as Nishihara Kim Hong-seok as Oowaku Im Dae-ho as Kenji Yoon Cheol-hyeong as Unit 731 lieutenant Tamura Lee Hee-do as Unit 731 private Ohara Hong Soon-chang as Unit 731 동물반 Isaki Yoon Moon-sik as Go-ga Jung Sung-mo as Lee Sung-do Jung Ho-keun as Kwon Dong-jin Jung Myung-hwan as Kang Gyun Song Kyung-chul as OSS agent Park Il-guk Kim Joo-young as Seo Kang-cheon Kim Hyun-joo as Ga Jeuk-ko, Ha-rim's lover and boarding house owner Jeon Mi-seon as Oh Soon-ae Lee Young-dal as Soon-ae's grandfather Kim Na-woon as Mae-ran Kwak Jin-young as Im Gap-saeng Jung Ok-seon as Mr. Go's wife Lee Sung-woong as Japanese 고등계 detective Yamada Maeng Sang-hoon as Konno Lee Mi-kyung as Hanako Kwon Eun-ah as Min-hee Kim Gil-ho as Ga Jeuk-ko's father Nam Young-jin as Kwon Joong-gu Hwang Beom-sik as Choi Sung-geun Im Moon-soo as Communist Party official Kim Ki-hyun as Kim Ki-mun Noh Young-guk as Kim Ho Han Suk-kyu as Young man from Seobuk Im Chang-jung as Gil-soo Na Young-jin as People's Commissar Hong Seong-seon as Young man with armband Seo Young-ae as Sang-beom's woman Moon Mi-bong as Old woman Kim Dennis Christen as 아얄티 lieutenant colonel Han Eun-jin as Old woman Geum Kim Yoon-hyeong as General Kim Park Young-tae as Han Kyu-hee Kim Dong-wan as Unit 731 surgeon Han Tae-il as Unit 731 daewi Yoo Toong as Unit 58 headquarters staff member Lee Chi-woo as Sergeant Cha Jae-hong as Detective Kang Ahn Jin-soo as Choi Cheon Kim Myung-soo as Jong-hoon Park Kyung-hyun as Interrogator Uhm Lee Kwang-hoon as OSS officer Hong Seung-ok as Sung-chul's wife Yoo Myung-soon as Il-gook's mother Park Jong-seol as Japanese military police 빨치산 Oh Seung-myung as Commissary director Hwang Yoon-geol as Communist Party member Lee Byung-sik as Communist Party interrogator 1 Kim Dong-hyun as Communist Party interrogator 2 Shim Woo-chang as Communist Party member Lee Seong-ho as Communist Party member Cha Yoon-hee as Man on Jeju Island Park Hyeong-joon as Young man at anti-privatization protest Gu Bo-seok as Partisan worker
Awards 1991 MBC Drama Awards Top Excellence Award, Actor: Choi Jae-sung Top Excellence Award, Actress: Chae Shi-ra
1992 Baeksang Arts Awards Technical Award: Jo Su-hyeon Most Popular Actor (TV): Park Sang-won Best Actor (TV): Choi Jae-sung Best Actress (TV): Chae Shi-ra Best Director (TV): Kim Jong-hak Best Drama Grand Prize (Daesang) for TV
1992 Korean Broadcasting Awards Best Drama
References
External links Eyes of Dawn at MBC