❤️ You gave me new words, new worlds, and apparently a permanent case of linguistic confusion. 😭💀!

I'm not dying, I'm just thanking everyone! It was and will be fun!!

Thank you Guyzzz!!!

The wonderfools

Choi dae hoon the man you are 😭

The meat was THERE! Why did nobody suck it???

⚠️ SPOILERS AHEAD ⚠️

Rating: 6/10.

RING RING!!

Hello? Yes, I'd like to report several missed opportunities. 📞

____

Review:

When the Phone Ring was... decent for the most part. Not horrible.

And I think thats what makes this one a little frustrating, cause there were moments where I could see a MUCH better drama hiding inside this one.

For a little grounding context on where I was in my K-drama journey when I watched this, my viewing habits had become absolute CHAOTIC MESS by this point😭 I had just finished Crazy Love, was still making my way through It's Okay to Not Be Okay, and at that point watching one drama from beginning to end before starting another was no longer something I believed in...

So When the Phone Rings ended up getting caught in the rotation too. I started it, paused it to go back and finish It's Okay to Not Be Okay, got distracted by My Dearest, and eventually came back and finished it.

Which is probably pretty representative of how I felt about this drama. There were things here that absolutely grabbed me, but not enough to make everything else disappear.

There were ideas here that I genuinely loved.

There were moments where I was completely locked in.

There were moments where I thought, OH??? NOW WE'RE COOKING.

And then the drama would just... not suck the meat out of them.

Because that is genuinely my biggest problem with When the Phone Rings.

406 WAS THE BEST PART OF THIS ENTIRE DRAMA.

And I really wish they had done more with it.

The moment Hong Hee-joo gathered up the courage to start calling Baek Sa-eon as 406, I was INVESTED!!!!

Because think about the situation she was in.

This woman had just been kidnapped.

her HUSBAND is called during the kidnapping, and this man basically responds with that whole dismissive "call me when there's a corpse..."

EXCUSE ME??? hellooo!???

And then she survives, gets access to the kidnapper's phone, and realizes she suddenly has this anonymous way of speaking to her husband.

Oh, the POSSIBILITIES!!! the juicy, juicy meat waiting to be sucked!!!

husband cruelly dismisses wife in danger, wife hears that and decides to play with him and make him!!!

i was SEATED for something like this!!

She starts pretending to be 406. She starts making demands. She starts pushing him toward divorcing her. And for once, this woman who has spent years trapped inside this bizarre marriage and family situation has some actual power over him.

I LOVED THAT.

i loved seeing her become brave enough to call him.

i loved watching her say things to him that she couldn't say as his wife.

i loved the reversal of their usual dynamic.

and most importantly, I wanted her to GO FURTHER!!!

If she genuinely wanted out of this marriage, MAKE HIM SWEAT!!!

If she was angry about the way he treated her, MAKE HIM REGRET IT.

And once he realized that his own wife had heard what he'd said while she was literally being held hostage???

i wanted CONSEQUENCES.

i wanted shock.

i wanted guilt.

i wanted him realizing just how badly he'd hurt her.

i wanted that entire situation to force him to confront what their marriage had become and how his behavior contributed to it.

There was SO MUCH JUICY MEAT THERE!!!

AND THEY DID NOT SUCK IT!!!!

Instead, the 406 storyline eventually becomes another vehicle for the romance, and Hee-joo never takes it nearly as far as I wanted her to.

the romance then became a bit weak to me!

Which is especially frustrating because this was easily the most interesting version of her character to me.

-

The chemistry wasn't horrible...?

Was I sitting there thinking these two had some of the best chemistry I've ever seen?

No.

Their KISSES, though???

okay.

Those were GOOD. hehehehehe 🫦 😊

Like... GOOD good.

and tbh, the kissing probably made me perceive their chemistry as stronger than I otherwise would've, because those scenes absolutely worked for me.

But overall, I just didn't feel that overwhelming romantic pull that would've made me obsessed with them as a couple.

And again, I think part of that comes back to the writing.

There were so many opportunities to create more tension inside this marriage.

INCLUDING THE SECOND MALE LEAD.

Because I genuinely thought for a while that they might actually use him as a romantic foil.

And I would've LOVED THAT.

You have this emotionally complicated marriage, a husband who hasn't exactly made his wife feel loved, and another man who could potentially become someone she turns toward?

HELLO??? RING RING!!

Make Baek Sa-eon JEALOUS, pls!

Make him realize his wife is not guaranteed to stay there forever.

Make him see that another man could potentially treat her better.

Give me some actual competition!

But nope...

They basically went, "Anyway, let's pair him with the news anchor."

And I was just sitting there like...

Okay???

😭

I didn't care about them together.

I cared about him insofar as he could've complicated the main relationship.

Once that possibility disappeared, so did my interest in whatever romantic storyline they wanted to give him.

And then... ARGON.

LMFAOOOOOO😭😭😭

I genuinely don't know what happened here.

We get to the LAST EPISODE and suddenly we're going to a fictional foreign country experiencing a WAR???

HUH???

WHERE DID THIS COME FROM???

😭😭😭

It was so unbelievably out of left field that I was actually laughing.

And yet...

I LIKED IT???

I'm sorry!

i know it's ridiculous!

I know it feels like somebody accidentally attached the finale of a completely different drama!

But i was entertained! Sue me!!

Suddenly we're overseas. There's a war. There's danger. There's a rescue mission. Everyone in this fake-ass country apparently speaks English???

WHAT IS HAPPENING???

But you know what?

I was having fun.

😭😭

It was bizarre, but it was also one of the most exciting parts of the entire drama for me.

And I actually liked seeing the story suddenly become bigger and more dangerous, even if I have absolutely no idea why they decided to introduce all of this in EPISODE TWELVE!!!!!

i did really like the ending, though.

Especially that little dinner scene with Sa-eon after everything was over.

Seeing him with his former employees, with his new name and this new version of his life, was genuinely cute.

I liked seeing everyone together after all the insanity.

And i liked getting to see Hee-joo and Sa-eon actually exist as a couple outside of the circumstances that originally created their marriage.

It was a lil sweet.

But ultimately...

6/10...

When the Phone Rings wasnt horrible.

That's almost what makes it worse.

Because I can see all the ingredients for a drama I would've liked significantly more.

The anonymous 406 calls.

A wife secretly confronting her husband.

A marriage that desperately needed to be shaken up.

A husband who could've been forced to truly reckon with how hed treated his wife.

A potential second male lead threatening that marriage.

Hot kisses.

A RANDOM INTERNATIONAL WAR???

THE MATERIAL WAS THERE! THE MEAT WAS BEGGING TO BE SUCKED!

But so many of the things I found most interesting either ended too quickly, weren't pushed far enough, or went in a direction I cared about less.

I kept wanting the drama to dig deeper into its own best ideas.

It just... wouldn't.

EDIT: Something else I forgot to mention...

Hee-joo's meekness DID bother me at first.

I kept wanting this woman to STAND UP!!!! 😭 but eventually I just kinda accepted that maybe that's simply part of who she is?

And i definitely don't think her being mute automatically means she should be meek. If anything, I interpreted it more as something she'd grown into after YEARS of being treated the way she was.

her mother literally conditioned her to stay quiet. She'd spent so much of her life being controlled, silenced, pushed around, and made to take up as little space as possible.

So... okay. I can understand how someone raised under those circumstances might become extremely passive.

That's actually another reason I loved 406 so much!!

Because we got this little glimpse of a different Hee-joo.

She was a little bold and was making demands and was saying shit to her husband shed never have the courage to say to his face.

And I really thought that was going to be the beginning of her becoming more assertive in general.

Especially once she got her voice back.

I dont necessarily think she needed to suddenly become a completely different person, because maybe she really is just naturally soft-spoken and reserved. That's fine.

But I would've loved to see more of that 406 confidence permanently bleed into Hee-joo.

Like girl, you found your voice LITERALLY AND FIGURATIVELY!!! USE IT!!! 😭

And I think I finally figured out what wasn't completely clicking for me with the chemistry either.

I already said their chemistry wasn't too horrible and their KISSES absolutely worked for me.

But outside of those moments, I never completely bought into them.

And... I think some of that might've been the acting.

I just didn't find either lead particularly strong here.

There were scenes where I understood exactly what the drama WANTED me to feel between them, but I wasn't always feeling it from the performances themselves.

The kisses could sell the some physical chemistry... but the acting didn't always sell the emotional chemistry to me.

And I think that's the distinction I was struggling to put my finger on when I originally wrote this.

---

My Rating Scale

10/10 – Masterpiece. No notes.

9/10 – Very close to a masterpiece. I absolutely loved it.

8/10 – Not a masterpiece, but I loved it.

7/10 – Fine overall. I liked it, but the flaws kept it from being great.

6/10 – Mixed. There were a few things I liked, but most of it didn't work for me.

5/10 – I didn't enjoy most of the experience.

4/10 and below – Bad to abysmal.

Some silences cost too much 💔

>Two days before this photoshoot, Wang Yibo finished second in his group at the second round of the CHINAGT Zhuhai race.
Racing, mountain climbing, rock climbing… Wang Yibo is always forging himself through different experiences, bringing back trophies or tan lines, carefully placing them in his memories: some retain the roar of the engine, some show the trees he climbed. Every corner holds unexpected encounters.
Until one day, he emptied his "house"...

Wang Yibo graces the cover of VOGUE Man, and he looks absolutely gorgeous! He is aging like fine wine.

VOGUE built a house for him, and each room has at least one detail from his personal branding. Every time he takes on a new magazine cover, his personal branding permeates everything, and I just find it so interesting- a great reminder that he is much more than just an actor.

If only she had listened.

He said everything I love in a Cdrama about the romantic aspect and just mostly all the dramas I watch. I do enjoy a lot of shows but it really makes a huge difference when there are beautiful actors and actresses in the drama. I also think he was spot on with watch shows that relate too much to our personal life. I want to watch something that helps me take a break from life. What are your thoughts on this?

For me, it was True Beauty. It was the second drama I watched in 2024 and ever since then I have been obsessed with Kdramas. It’s definitely not perfect but it was so fun in every way, its going to forever have a special place in my heart❤️‍🩹

What was the drama that made you fall in love with Kdramas? And do you still love it and rewatch it to this day?

It may even be that your first drama didn’t get you hooked but another one you watched after it did, was that the case for you? Squid game was my first drama but it definitely wasn’t the one that got me hooked.

For me

Our Beloved Summer

This is currently the latest update for now.

(along with Ha Young and Lee Jehoon's new** **K-drama "The Long Shot Trial" issues)

Brand Deals & Removals

The controversy surrounding "Our Sticky Love" actress Ha Young's family history has led to several canceled or withdrawn professional engagements.

The issue stems from her great-grandfather, Doctor Ahn Sang Ho, whose documented ties to Japan's colonial rule were recently acknowledged by Ha Young's agency.

Following the revelations, Samsung Electronics made six promotional videos featuring Ha Young for its Samsung Art TV campaign private, while fashion brand Artid also removed her campaign videos.

Her scheduled media interviews on August 14 to promote Netflix's "Our Sticky Love" were canceled. An episode of
"Problem Child in House" featuring Ha Young was also removed from Wavve, with related YouTube and Naver TV clips made private.

Despite the backlash, her filming commitments for the SBS drama "The Long Shot Trial" remained unchanged, and she was reportedly seen continuing production as scheduled.

The controversy comes as South Korea prepares to revive an official committee investigating and confiscating property linked to pro-Japanese collaborators. A new law taking effect in December will allow authorities to examine assets acquired through collaboration with Japan between 1904 and 1945.

However, there is currently no confirmation that Ha Young or her immediate family possess property connected to her great-grandfather's alleged activities. Any potential investigation or asset seizure would depend on future findings by the authorities.

@koreanophiles

Japanese Media Responds

Japanese media and online users are showing strong interest in the controversy surrounding actor Ha Young, who has faced public criticism over her initial response to revelations about the pro-Japanese activities of her great-grandfather, Ahn Sang-ho (1872-1927).

Much of the Japanese reaction has been sympathetic toward Ha, with some describing the backlash as "modern-day guilt by association" and criticizing the response in Korea. The reaction highlights a stark difference in perspective between Japan, the former colonial power, and Korea, which was subjected to Japanese colonial rule from 1910 to 1945.

A column published Wednesday by the conservative Japanese outlet JBpress is one example. Its headline, "Why does Korea not forgive descendants of pro-Japanese collaborators? The 'modern-day guilt by association' cornering celebrities and the weaponization of history," made clear its critical view of the Korean response.

The outlet first outlined the known facts, identifying Ha's great-grandfather as Ahn Sang-ho, who served as a council member of the Taisho Business Friendship Association, an organization formed during the colonial period. It described the group as an organization of Korea's upper class that promoted "harmony between Japan and Korea."

JBpress, however, said Ahn's actions should not be conflated with those of Ha.

"Ha Young never experienced the Japanese colonial period, and the past actions of a great-grandfather whom she never met are now being treated as an issue," the outlet said. "It feels utterly unreasonable, but she has somehow been branded a 'descendant of a pro-Japanese collaborator.'"

It also criticized what it described as a culture of digging into celebrities' family histories, saying that when someone becomes famous in Korea, not only the person's past but also the histories of their parents, siblings and even ancestors can come under scrutiny.

A column from Fuji News Network (FNN) offered a similar assessment.

"The situation in which Ha's programs and advertisements are being made private because of allegations concerning her great-grandfather could be described as a modern-day form of 'guilt by association,'" it said.

"It is necessary to distinguish between confirmed actions and unfounded allegations, ancestors and descendants, and historical responsibility and contemporary political attacks," it said. "Otherwise, the scope of the term 'pro-Japanese' could expand endlessly, to the point that we lose sight of what should actually be criticized and remembered."

Its argument was that the situation should be judged more objectively because Ha herself did not engage in pro-Japanese activities.

'Are they making someone a criminal out of jealousy?'

Similar reactions appeared among Japanese internet users.

One Japanese user wrote that Koreans "show a tendency to create new sinners based on fragmentary perspectives, perhaps because they are jealous of other people's success," adding that many ancestors branded "pro-Japanese" were "ordinary people who simply went along with the circumstances of their time."

Such comments effectively defended people accused of collaboration and their actions. Some responses went further, displaying historically inaccurate or distorted views, including claims that Japan also had "25 million victims" and that events from 80 years ago should no longer be invoked, as well as a claim that Yi Wan-yong, a leading pro-Japanese collaborator, was "on the same side as the independence movement because he asked Japan for help."

For those that don't know the controversy or what it is about:- (Short explanation)

The controversy began after Ha appeared on the KBS 2TV variety show "Problem Child in House" on Aug. 7 and said she came from a family that had produced doctors for four generations.

It was subsequently revealed that her great-grandfather was Ahn Sang-ho, a physician during the Japanese colonial period, and details of his pro-Japanese activities surfaced.

Ha's side initially said the allegations were "groundless," drawing intense criticism. She eventually apologized on social media Wednesday, saying, "I apologize for causing great disappointment and hurt over matters related to my great-grandfather."

Source

I started researching the controversy around Korean actress Ha Young expecting it to be another celebrity backlash story.

Instead, it led me into a much bigger question about how South Korea remembers Japanese colonial rule and what happened to collaboration-related accountability after liberation.

The part I found most interesting is that two questions often get mixed together:

Is a descendant responsible for an ancestor’s actions? No.

But that is different from asking whether a specific property or benefit can be historically traced through documents.

I made a short video using Ha Young’s controversy as the entry point. I tried to separate documented historical records from allegations that are not proven, while also explaining why the reaction in Korea carries historical weight that can be easy to miss in English-language coverage.

Full disclosure: I made the video.

https://youtu.be/c3reIPYNE_I

For people who follow Korean film/drama culture: do you think international audiences often miss the historical context behind controversies like this?

starting crash landing on you kdrama tonight!

lets hope it lives up to my expectations and its popularity!!

in other words, lets hope i love it!

"Code" is about Yun Tae Ju, a former prosecutor's investigator turned ambitious lawyer, will do whatever it takes to become a partner at a prestigious law firm. His relentless pursuit of success takes a dangerous turn when he receives an invitation to a mysterious app called Code, which grants its users' wishes—but only in exchange for a price.

As Tae Ju becomes entangled in the app's web of greed and consequences, prosecutor Park Ji Dam investigates a series of incidents connected to Code while confronting a man with whom she shares a complicated past. Along the way, Tae Ju unexpectedly joins forces with Cho Cheol Ho, a North Korean defector and hacker, while veteran detective Im Chang Jae helps him pursue the truth.

Coming in 2027 on disney+