Model of the Borugak Clepsydra

National Palace Museum in Seoul, Korea.

This life-size, working model of the Borugak Jagyeongnu (a clepsydra, or water-clock) is located in the National Palace Museum on the grounds of Gyeongbokgung Palace. The surviving parts of the actual clepsydra are currently located on the grounds of Deoksugung Palace.

The instrument worked by a series of regulated water drops (top photo, left) that provided motive power for timekeeping displays that involved a gong, bell, drum, and even a wooden puppet that marked the hour with a placard (top photo, right).