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Yoo Yeon Seok and Chae Soo Bin’s When the Phone Rings team issues apology over controversial sign language scene
When the Phone Rings' production team issued an official apology addressing the sing language scene controversy. Read on for more details.
When the Phone Rings is an ongoing South Korean series starring Yoo Yeon Seok and Chae Soo Bin in the leading roles. The show’s plot follows the lives of two individuals who get married for convenience, yet their relationship completely changes following a drastic incident. However, due to one particular scene involving sign language, the show receives backlash over it.
On December 2, 2024, the production team of When the Phone Rings issued a formal apology regarding a controversial scene. They clarified that there was no intent to mock sign language but acknowledged their shortcomings in accurately portraying the challenges faced by the deaf community and sign language users.
The controversy arose from a scene in the first episode, which aired on November 22, 2024. In the episode, Hong Hee Joo (played by Chae Soo Bin), a sign language interpreter for a news program, encounters a transmission glitch during a live broadcast. The program freezes on her signing the word ‘mountain,’ which is misinterpreted as an obscene gesture. Following the broadcast, the drama faced criticism for allegedly mocking sign language, with some viewers expressing offense at the depiction.
Based on the web novel The Number You Have Dialed by Geon Eomul Nyeo, this story explores the complex and distant marriage of Baek Sa Eon and Hong Hui Ju. Their relationship began as a marriage of convenience. For three years, they have coexisted in silence, avoiding meaningful interactions and sharing no meals together, yet maintaining a facade of a happy, well-adjusted couple to the outside world.
Their stagnant marriage is upended when Hui Ju is kidnapped by an unidentified individual. This shocking event forces them out of their emotional distance, compelling Sa Eon to confront his feelings and reevaluate their relationship. As secrets unravel, the couple’s lives take an unexpected turn, transforming their marriage in ways neither could have anticipated.
Yoo Yeon Seok takes up the role of Baek Sa Eon, who comes from a powerful political family and has built an impressive career as Korea’s youngest presidential spokesman. On the other hand, Chae Soo Bin plays Hui Ju, the daughter of a prominent newspaper proprietor. Despite her prestigious lineage, her life has been shaped by tragedy; an accident in her childhood left her mute.
Directed by Park Sang Woo and Wi Deuk Gyu, the new episode of When the Phone Rings airs every Friday and Saturday on Netflix.
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