What you need to know about new Korean romance thriller 'When the Phone Rings'
Attention, Hallyu fans! There's a new Korean drama you might want to binge-watch, and it's the number one show on Netflix right now.
When the Phone Rings is a romance thriller limited series starring Yoo Yeon-seok and Chae Soo-bin, who play a couple Baek Sa-eon and Hong Hee-joo in a "marriage of convenience."
The show was written by Kim Ji-un, who's known for his self-written and directed movie The Quiet Family. He also directed Korean classics A Tale of Two Sisters and A Bittersweet Life, as well as the movies The Foul King, The Good, the Bad, the Weird, and I Saw the Devil.
Park Sang-woo, known for My Secret, Terrius, and The Forbidden Marriage, serves as director.
Here's what you need to know about When the Phone Rings, as you prepare to watch its upcoming episodes.
Adapted from a web
When the Phone Rings is based on the popular Kakao Page web novel The Number You Have Dialed by Geon Eomul Nyeo.
According to Netflix, the series is about a rising politician and his mute wife whose "tense marriage begins to unravel after a call from a kidnapper turns their lives upside down."
According to Netflix's K-Content account on X, the man is Korea’s youngest presidential spokesperson, while his wife is a sign language interpreter who gets "mysteriously abducted."
Shifting genres
The main genre of When the Phone Rings is romance thriller, although it would feature other elements, too, as the story progresses.
"The drama shifts dynamically through romantic comedy, romance, mystery, thriller, and even action, reflecting the characters' evolving emotions," said writer Kim Ji Woon, according to a Soompi report.
Director Park Sang Woo also teased, "While it might initially seem like a love-hate relationship in an arranged marriage, it is actually a tale of true love that has endured for over 20 years."
Romantic chemistry
Yoo promises that the romantic chemistry between him and Chae on the show will shoot up as they move forward in the story.
"Since we play a couple that doesn’t even talk to each other, I didn't try to get close too quickly (with Chae). The romance builds up (throughout the story), so I tried to become familiar with each other slowly, adjusting the pace," he said, the Korea Times reported.
"The chemistry explodes later on. You can look forward to it," he continued.
Powerhouse cast
The stars of When the Phone Rings previously appeared in major shows in Korea.
Yoo debuted with a small role in the 2003 action thriller movie Oldboy and has since appeared in movies like Re-encounter, Architecture 101, A Werewolf Boy, Whistle Blower, Perfect Proposal, Mood of the Day, as well as television series Reply 1994, Warm and Cozy, Dr. Romantic, Mr. Sunshine, and Hospital Playlist.
Yoo made sure to take personal lessons from an MBC announcer in order to portray his role in the new series well. "I had many new experiences (with this drama), like shooting at a news studio. Announcer Jeon Jong-hwan personally taught me passionately and I learned a lot by observing him. He was so earnest in teaching me, preparing papers and providing reference videos," he said, according to Korea Times, adding that he also reviewed press briefings of current politicians.
Chae, meanwhile, is known for her roles in TV series Love in the Moonlight, The Rebel, Strongest Deliveryman, I'm Not a Robot, Where Stars Land, A Piece of Your Mind, Rookie Cops, and The Fabulous.
"I really wanted to play Hong from the moment I met this character," she shared. "We’re used to expressing things through words, but communicating through sign language was very new. The character seems passive as she lives a suppressed and difficult life, but there’s a strong spirit and unique quirkiness in her, which was interesting and refreshing."
Other cast members include Heo Nam-jun (Snowdrop, Sweet Home), Jang Gyu-ri (It's Okay to Not Be Okay, Cheer Up, Player), Han Jae-yi (Hotel de Luna, Good Partner, Melting Me Softly), Yoo Sung-joo (Squid Game, The Silent Sea), Chu Sang-mi (Everybody Has Secrets, Turning Gate), Choi Kwang-il (The Glory, Gyeongsang Creature), Oh Hyun-kyung (First Wives' Club, Wang's Family), and Im Chul-soo (Target, Vincenzo).
Intriguing trailer
The Netflix trailer opens with Hong delivering a voiceover saying, "I think my husband wants me dead." It showed scenes of her and Baek appearing before the media, as well as her driving a car while appearing to be under distress before seemingly crashing as the screen turned white.
Baek can also be seen talking to someone on the phone, saying, "Has the death been confirmed? Call me when there's a body."
"So many things that I don't understand are happening lately. There's no way Hee-joo has a side of her that I don't know," he also said.
At one point, Baek, with blood on his collar and looking enraged, confronts Hong, saying, "Was I mistaken?"
The scene shifts to Hong getting Baek's pillow before lying down near him in the same bed, as she says in a voiceover, "He knows nothing about me."
A scene also showed him wiping off her lip and being on top of her in bed, saying, "Are you going to take it off, or should I do it?"
Twelve episodes with schedules
To date, only the first two episodes are out. Episodes 3 and 4 will air on Nov. 29 and 30, respectively.
The limited series is slated for 12 episodes, with the last two episodes coming in January 2025.
Here's the schedule of the episodes' release dates, according to Netflix.
- Episode 1 – Nov. 22, Friday
- Episode 2 – Nov. 23, Saturday
- Episode 3 – Nov. 29, Friday
- Episode 4 – Nov. 30, Saturday
- Episode 5 – Dec. 6, Friday
- Episode 6 – Dec. 7, Saturday
- Episode 7 – Dec. 13, Friday
- Episode 8 – Dec. 21, Saturday
- Episode 9 – December
- Episode 10 – December
- Episode 11 – January 2025
- Episode 12 – January 2025
Each episode lasts for at least an hour.
