“When The Phone Rings” Faces Scathing Condemnation For Skewed Representation Of Israel-Palestine
Content Warning
MBC‘s popular K-Drama When The Phone Rings aired its final episode on January 4, KST. While the conclusion was highly anticipated by fans worldwide, a particular scene from the last episode has ignited scathing criticism.
The particular scene in question showed the character Na Yu Ri (played by Jang Gyu Ri) reporting about South Korean nationals being abducted in a warzone. The English subtitle of the scene read, “The ongoing Paltima airstrikes are taking place in Izamel where Korean nationals have been kidnapped by armed militants.”
this is the scene op is referring to btw for added context 🥴 they added this scene near the very end of the last ep with these slightly changed names https://t.co/eBNNfMh8SW pic.twitter.com/EAeBTWTYOi
— ⋆ (@selsmarss) January 4, 2025
Though the names “Paltima” and “Izmael” were fictional, it didn’t take viewers too long to realize that they were allusions to Palestine and Israel, respectively. Due to the English subtitles, viewers got the impression that the character was implying that Paltima was airstriking Izmael and that Korean civilians were taken hostage by Paltima’s militants. Many saw it as a complete inversion of the ground realities in the Middle East, where Palestine is currently facing an unprecedented humanitarian crisis due to Israeli aggression.
For more than a year, the Gaza Strip of Palestine has been ruthlessly bombed by Israel, along with other documented crimes against humanity, including inducement of unlivable conditions by deliberate restriction of aid. International medical workers in Gaza have been sounding the alarm about violations of international humanitarian law by the Israeli army in Gaza.
Across northern #Gaza, there is no way of telling where the destruction starts or ends.
No matter from what direction you enter #Gaza City, homes, hospitals, schools, health clinics, mosques, apartments, restaurants – all completely flattened.
An entire society now a graveyard. pic.twitter.com/gnZk0URyQX
— Louise Wateridge (@UNWateridge) November 6, 2024
"Israeli" soldiers set fire to Mahdia Al-Shawa School in Beit Hanoun just right after the aid trucks arrived there, following more than forty days without food. They burned down the school and all the aid supplies, forcing the displaced people to evacuate by force. pic.twitter.com/HJxqDqdCq3
— Ania Lewandovska 🍉 (@Anna_AnninaEl) November 15, 2024
In the past week, at the refugee camps in Gaza, at least 5 infants have died from hypothermia. Among them is the 3-week-old baby, ‘Ali (in the picture).
With the arrival of winter, Israel has left millions of people in Gaza without proper shelter and heating.
Infants and… pic.twitter.com/ykYhwhmJZy
— B'Tselem בצלם بتسيلم (@btselem) January 3, 2025
STOP everything you're doing & listen to what Jewish American Doctor Mark Perlmutter saw in Gaza: pic.twitter.com/ZbltdHqE6l
— Omar Baddar عمر بدّار (@OmarBaddar) July 22, 2024
"We saw a number of children with sniper injuries to the head, single shot to the head, no other injuries, so clearly deliberately targeted by Israeli snipers."
Professor Nizam Mamode giving evidence to MPs in parliament yesterday about his time working in Gaza pic.twitter.com/AQClWc1Bc8
— Saul Staniforth (@SaulStaniforth) November 13, 2024
In May 2024, the ICJ (International Court of Justice) ruled that it was “plausible” that Israel’s actions in Gaza amounted to genocide. This ruling was followed up by the International Criminal Court (ICC) issuing warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, along with Hamas commander Mohammed Deif, for their alleged crimes against humanity.
#ICC Prosecutor @KarimKhanQC announces applications for arrest warrants in relation to Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant in the context of the situation in the State of #Palestine ⤵️https://t.co/WqDZecXFZq pic.twitter.com/bxqLWc5M6u
— Int'l Criminal Court (@IntlCrimCourt) May 20, 2024
Viewers were enraged at the show for supposedly skewing the facts and even suspected it of dispersing Zionist propaganda. Many were also offended that the real crisis of the Middle East was treated as a mere plot device by the show’s writers, especially since the original web novel had no such subplot.
@mbcdrama_pre This is what the Palestinian(Paltima) people are enduring, and you're claiming they are attacking Israel(Izmael)? Are you f****** serious?#WhenThePhoneRingsEp12#WhenThePhoneRings #지금거신전화는 https://t.co/mr0rg8cV6X pic.twitter.com/Rgh6C761Wa
— 🅸🆁🅷🅰 (@IRHA880929) January 4, 2025
and once again. palestinian genocide is NOT a light topic to discuss on a kdrama. and this kdrama couldn’t get any worse they had to blatantly LIE about what’s actually happening there. free palestine you freaks https://t.co/SJXgEJENsA
— luna (@geewonfilms) January 4, 2025
What they put on the show vs. What's actually happening in Palestine … #FreePalestine #WhenThePhoneRings https://t.co/AvTpdLFBo8 pic.twitter.com/g78E1IFflW
— Bloom 🌸 🇵🇸 (@bbuyoMom) January 4, 2025
using an ongoing genocide as a mere plot device especially in a way that aligns w zionist narratives is not just tone deaf but deeply offensive https://t.co/eEq2GGxPOp
— 𝑠𝑖𝑑 (@brownkudiii) January 4, 2025
The show’s director, Park Sang Woo, executive producer, Kwon Sung Chang, and screenwriter, Kim Ji Woon have been called out by viewers to take accountability for this blunder and apologize. Many have also called on MBC to remove the clip from the show and offer an apology.
Yall seriously need to start boycotting korean entertainment that pro-zionist. Boycott the writer and director for good. Avoid the actors too https://t.co/SynR6FTOkv
— haruharu (@haruSKELETON) January 4, 2025
yeonseok-soobin carry the whole drama but production crew ruin everything. they show a news report saying "paltima airstriking izmael and taking korean hostages"?? they're zionist
— piyu (@ongesaranghae) January 4, 2025
But it seems that the widespread outrage might be the fault of Netflix’s faulty subtitles and not of MBC or the show’s writers. Contrary to what the English captions suggested, the actual Korean dialogue implied that Korean citizens were kidnapped by armed forces in Izamel, a country that is also attacking Paltima. The additional visual context of the scene also supports this interpretation. At the back of the news anchor, viewers can see a map displayed with an arrow pointing from Izmael to Paltima, suggesting the direction of the air strikes.
The banner displayed at the bottom of the screen also read, “Koreans kidnapped by Izmael armed forces…negotiation expert dispatched,” which further supports this interpretation.
After some viewers stepped forward with clarifications, fans directed their anger toward Netflix, demanding an answer regarding this blunder.
which is even weirder cause that means netflix intentionally mistranslated a scene so that it reads as zionist propaganda… https://t.co/g4bbKoBscw
— Sera⁷ The Last Shadowhunter 🔻 (@park_carstairs) January 6, 2025
… people at netflix let this fly, someone, probably multiple people at netflix looked at that translation and gave it the OK
fuck netflix, man https://t.co/TTc7BpkZzt
— wyn says 🍉 (@wynwinning) January 7, 2025
saw a korean on tumblr explaining this as well so our anger truly ought to be towards netflix, even if the whole scene seems distasteful https://t.co/aZ4eSP9pCc
— sara⁷ (@myunmyeong) January 6, 2025
None of the parties involved with the K-Drama have responded to this controversy as of yet. Stay tuned for more updates.
This article has been edited to clarify that netizens’ discontent is based on the show’s subtitles on Netflix, which contain mistranslations. The correct translation of the original Korean lines has been added as well.
