“When the Phone Rings” is currently the most popular Korean drama on the Netflix online platform. According to Flixpatrol, as of November 25, the drama has ranked No. 1 on Netflix in 31 countries, including Korea and Vietnam.
In particular, in China, "When the Phone Rings" is causing a fever on social networks with many videos cut from the film being spread.
According to Chinese audiences, the movie has a rather old but still attractive CEO motif. The plot has all the typical content of Jin Jiang romance novels such as "forced robbery", "family marriage", "rich family marriage", "younger sister marries older sister", "secret love", "marry first, love later"...
“When the Phone Rings” revolves around the arranged marriage relationship of Baek Sa Eon (Yoo Yeon Seok) and Hong Hee Joo (Chae Soo Bin), combining romantic elements with thrilling, suspenseful elements.
The male lead is the youngest spokesperson of the Blue House, the female lead is a sign language interpreter with selective mutism.
The film opens with the female lead pretending to be her kidnapper, calling the male lead to force him to divorce, ending a formal marriage that had been cold for 3 years.
In episode 2, the audience discovered that the male lead had liked the female lead for a long time, and he had planned for the female lead to marry instead of his sister.
Baek Sa Eon always appears cold, emotionless and cruel to his wife. But in reality, he always cares and worries about his wife. When he finds out that Hee Joo is injured, he goes crazy and immediately loses control.
Chinese audiences love the male lead played by Yoo Yeon Seok. He is described as a perfect man, from his family background, social status, appearance and outstanding talent. These elements are the standard image of a “CEO” in Chinese romance novels.
Notably, what makes Chinese audiences crazy about the movie is that China has produced many movies with the "domineering CEO" motif, but most of them are criticized as "cheap", "greasy acting", "not a real CEO". Meanwhile, Korean movies not only have convincing acting, but also invest in perfect settings, fashion, and camera angles.
The audience mentioned the movie “Di ai vi doanh” starring Bach Loc and Vuong Hac De. In it, Bach Loc was criticized for being rustic despite wearing all branded clothes, Vuong Hac De was too “young” compared to the image of a successful CEO, and the movie’s color and camera angles were criticized for being confusing and putting down the actors.
Or Huynh Hieu Minh in the movie "Red Heat" was commented to have acted as a cheesy, exaggerated CEO.
