‘When The Phone Rings’ Sparks Outrage with Problematic Palestine Reference

‘When The Phone Rings’ has sparked outrage with its insensitive portrayal of the Palestine genocide.

Starring Yoo Yeon Seok and Chae Soo Bin, the last episode of MBC Friday-Saturday drama was aired on January 4. However, the ending did not sit well with viewers because of its inaccurate and unnecessary reference to the Palestine genocide.

In the drama finale, the news anchor delivers the news, which was conveyed by Hong Hee Joo to the audience through sign language. 

Jang Gyuri references Palestine but flips the narrative and portrays the perpetrators and victims differently while depicting Korea as a peacemaker.

She reported on a tense standoff between fictional countries “Paltima” and “Izmael”, with Paltima allegedly conducting airstrikes and holding Korean nationals captive.

Gyuri reads the news, “The ongoing Paltima airstrikes (Palestine) are taking place in Izmael (Israel), where Korean citizens have been kidnapped by armed militants.”

The drama has a history of using fictional country names as stand-ins for real-world locations. Earlier, they referenced Afghanistan’s war zone by renaming it “Argan”.

Viewers and fans of “When The Phone Rings” are enraged and calling for boycotting the show. They have decided to give it 1-star rating on IMDb as well. It made fans furious that they distorted the facts and 

The Korean drama “When the Phone Rings” has been embroiled in controversy since its premiere. Chae Soo Bin plays Hong Hee Joo, a sign language interpreter who communicates mostly through signing. 

However, things took a turn for the worse when another character, anchor Na Yuri (Jang Gyuri), misinterpreted and distorted sign language during a news broadcast. This sparked outrage among the Deaf community and sign language users, who felt mocked and disrespected.

Fans thought these unnecessary scenes not only ruined the ending but also overshadowed the success of “When The Phone Rings”. Despite dominating Netflix charts, the drama ends on a sour note.