K-drama Review: When the Phone Rings
This romantic thriller has taken over the #1 place on my list of favourite K-dramas and I've already watched it all the way through three times since it released earlier this year. Read on to find out why...
English Title: When the Phone Rings (2024-5)
Writer: Kim Ji-woon
Directors: Park Sang-woo, Wi Deuk-gyu
Length: 12 episodes
Tropes: Contract Marriage / Marriage of Convenience, Secret Marriage, Revenge, Suspense, Kidnapping, Childhood Friends, Dysfunctional Families
My Score: 5/5
Description: For three years, mute sign language interpreter Hong Hee-joo (Chae Soo-bin) has been in a secret arranged marriage with the cold, aloof, and politically-ambitious Baek Sa-eon (Yoo Yeon-seok). Their lives are thrown into turmoil when Hong Hee-joo is kidnapped and Baek Sa-eon is contacted by the kidnapper through a disguised phone call. That call triggers a chain of events that unravels their tense marriage, exposes long-buried secrets, puts their lives in danger, and even threatens the presidential election.
If you enjoyed this show, then watch: Crash Landing On You, The Trunk, Hyde Jekyll Me (same writer), My Secret, Terrius (director Park Sang-woo), and Bitter Sweet Hell (director Wi Deuk-gyu)
I saw a LOT of buzz about When The Phone Rings on social media as it released episode-by-episode from the end of November 2024 until early January 2025. K-drama fans were posting clips and raving about the show. As enticing as these glimpses were, I decided to wait until the entire series was out so I could binge it (I no longer have the patience to wait a whole week between episodes!) Then, once the final episode released, I wasn't in the mood to watch anything too heavy. After the tedium and heaviness of One Spring Night I wanted something light and fun, which is why I chose to watch Warm and Cozy instead. It was only when I realised the lead actor of Warm and Cozy was also the lead in WTPR, that this show bumped higher up my list. And in that magic way that social media algorithms have, suddenly my social media feeds were again filled with enticing clips from the show, bumping it right up to the top of the list.
It took just one episode to completely and utterly hook me. I thought I knew what this show was about, having seen so many teasers and so much discussion online, but...wow! I didn't see the twist at the end of episode one coming, and couldn't wait to see what other surprises this show held in store.
With each successive episode, I became as obsessed with WTPR as I was when I first watched Crash Landing on You, unable to stop rolling over from one episode to the next, no matter what hour of the night/morning it was. (And I was so, so tempted to even ignore the editing job I was a working on just to keep watching!)
When The Phone Rings has everything going for it - gorgeous photography, great acting, a great music score, big special effects and action scenes, all done with a big-budget quality - but, for me, the best thing it has going for it is the craftsmanship of the writing.
The pacing in this show is excellent. There are no dull moments and not a single episode where the tension lags. Intensely emotional moments are balanced with flashes of humour to allow the viewer to recover. Like in Crash Landing on You, the writer masterfully manipulates the viewer's tension. There'll be high drama and action, then softer moments to allow the viewer to catch their breath, before another twist ramps up the tension again.
There is also a really good balance between action and emotion in this show. Some action-oriented shows (like Vincenzo) have a tendency to favour action and sideline the characters' emotional arcs or have a limited emotional range, but WTPR, like CLOY, achieves a perfect balance between the suspense and the romance. Romance lovers will not be disappointed!
As I've come to expect from K-dramas, every episode ends with a hook that makes viewers immediately want to click onto the next episode. But this show goes a step further by alternating the types of hooks it employs. This variety prevents the cliffhangers from feeling repetitive. If one episode ends with high drama (characters trapped in a burning building, an explosion, or a kidnapping) then the next episode usually ends with a softer, emotional scene, like a confession of love, an emotionally tender moment, or a vulnerable moment in which a character reveals something about themselves.
The story occasionally plays with a non-linear timeline, jumping forward or going back in time to reveal information and build suspense in order to intrigue the viewer. If a scene from earlier in the show is repeated, it's usually shown from a different character's POV to give the viewer a new perspective. Information is seldom simply repeated without having a new dimension added to it.
I also love the subtlety of the way information is revealed in this show. Revelations and twists are never stated outright, but one hint piles on top of another until the viewer knows with certainty what deep, dark secret lies in the past. Then, just when you think you know everything, there's another twist. (Yes, I'm repeating myself and being vague, but I don't want to give any spoilers! Watch the show to see what I mean.)
That said, this show isn't perfect. There were a few minor plot holes or elements that were a tad annoying:
- Logic is occasionally thrown out the window in service of creating dramatic tension. One example: the man standing closest to a bomb (which blows out an entire apartment in a giant fireball) is the least injured, while the ML, in another room, has greater injuries.
- Likewise, there are a number of medically unbelievable scenarios. Quite a few characters sustain injuries that would kill a normal person (shot in the chest or stomach, bleeding out huge amounts of blood) but a day later they're all better and suffered only the most minor of wounds. And almost every injury results in wounds on the neck, just above the collar - no doubt where it's most convenient for the make-up artist to apply the effects!
- It is revealed later in the story that Baek Sa-eon has wanted to communicate with his wife for many years - so why did he never learn sign language?
- Finally, there's a DNA inconsistency where a DNA report proves that one of the characters isn't their parents' real child - however they later turn out to be related, so surely they would still share some DNA, which would make that supposedly damning report inconclusive?
Finally, I'm trying not to give spoilers, but hmmm...that final episode. To me, it felt like an add-on, as if the writer wrapped up the story in eleven episodes then went "oops, I still have to fill a full hour of screen time." On the plus side, the last episode gave me some emotional distance. If the story had ended immediately after the climax in Episode 11, I may have been too fixated to let go of these characters!
The ending is similar to that of Warm and Cozy, the previous show I watched with the same male lead. In both, the hero feels guilt for the actions of his birth parents, even when he had no part in their actions. In both shows, the ML takes responsibility and punishes himself for the deeds of his parents. Is this a Korean thing, or just a K-drama "we need to create conflict" thing?
It's possible that the events of the final episode may be a Korean cultural expectation we western viewers aren't used to. Through my K-drama journey, I've learned about the Korean concept of "han" (한), a feeling of deep sorrow, resentment and regret that stems from the country's history of suffering and oppression, and which is seen as part of Korean identity. (If you'd like to understand a little more about the concept of han, check out this review of the K-drama My Mister.) The way that K-dramas often separate the romantic leads for a period of time towards the end of shows (including Coffee Prince, Her Private Life, My love from the star, The Legend of the Blue Sea, What's Wrong with Secretary Kim? and many others) may be tied to this uniquely Korean concept.
Other than those minor issues, I give When The Phone Rings 10/10.
For writers:
- Watch this show for the emotional pacing, the episode endings, the way that back story and information is revealed, and how tension is built then released.
- I often teach my coaching clients about the Rule of Three, and this show offers an excellent example of this principle in action. In the Rule of Three, a motif or object is mentioned three times (two often being too few for the reader to register a pattern, and four or more mentions feeling like the reader is being under-estimated.) As in joke punchlines, the first mention introduces the motif, the second reinforces it, and the third subverts it. In episode 5 of WTPR, the ML tells the FL that she has a bad habit of under-estimating herself. Later she replays this conversation in her head to reinforce it, and the final mention is in episode 7, when the ML uses the same phrase as part of a climactic reveal.
If you've watched When The Phone Rings, what were your thoughts? Do you agree or disagree with my review? What were your favourite moments in the show?
For those who haven't yet watched When The Phone Rings, check out the trailer to see if it's something you might want to give a try:
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