# When the Phone Rings (2024)

> A rising politician and his mute wife's strained marriage is thrown into crisis when a kidnapper's call turns their lives upside down.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/168852

## Facts

- Seasons: 1
- Episodes: 12
- Episode runtime: 70 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: drama, thriller, romance, crime
- Created by: Kim Ji-woon
- Network: MBC
- Cast: Yoo Yeon-seok, Chae Soo-bin, Heo Nam-jun, Jang Gyu-ri, Lee Doo-seok, Park Geon-rak, 탁승빈, Park Gang-to
- TMDB rating: 6.0/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt33503491/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: measured
- Intensity: moderate
- Complexity: accessible
- Violence: mild
- Tone: suspenseful, romantic, tense, melancholic, bittersweet

## What critics say

Critics and viewers praised the lead performances and the blend of romance and thriller, though reception was mixed and the finale was faulted as over the top.

## Synopsis

When the Phone Rings (2024-2025) is a Korean television miniseries created by Kim Ji-woon for MBC. Across twelve roughly seventy-minute episodes, it follows a rising politician whose tense marriage to a mute wife begins to unravel after a call from a kidnapper upends their privileged world. Yoo Yeon-seok plays Baek Sa-eon, and Chae Soo-bin plays Hong Hee-ju, the wife whose silence shapes the couple's fragile bond. Heo Nam-jun and Jang Gyu-ri portray figures orbiting the political and family pressures around them. The engine is a couple forced to confront old assumptions and hidden truths while a ransom threat presses on them, with each episode layering suspense onto a slow-burn romance. Set in contemporary South Korea among wealthy and political circles in Seoul, the story balances thriller beats with tender, awkward intimacy. Its tone moves between suspenseful and romantic, with melancholy undercurrents. Viewers who enjoy Korean romantic thrillers in the vein of Crash Landing on You and Mr. Sunshine will find resonance in its blend of longing, class tension and mystery. Being a complete miniseries, it offers a contained, emotionally charged watch.

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