Miniseries · MBC
When the Phone Rings
Their love hangs by a thread... until a stranger picks up the phone.
Who's in it
Cast
The principal ensemble across the run of the series.
Yoo Yeon-seok
Baek Sa-eon
12 eps
Chae Soo-bin
Hong Hee-ju
12 eps
Heo Nam-jun
Ji Sang-woo
12 eps
Jang Gyu-ri
Na Yu-ri
12 eps
Lee Doo-seok
Kang Hyeong-Cheol
12 eps
Park Geon-Rak
Director Yoon
2 eps
탁승빈
HBC Staff
1 eps
Park Gang-to
HBC Staff
1 eps
이경호
Director
1 eps
Lee Beom-chan
Director
1 eps
Lee Seung-jin
Reporter
3 eps
Lim Cheol-soo
Kang Young-woo
6 eps
Choi Woo-jin
Park Do-jae
6 eps
Park Sun-young
Kim Soo-young
5 eps
Song Jin-hee
Ahn Jin-hee
5 eps
Jeong Ji-hwan
Jung Won-bin
5 eps
Ko Sang-ho
Jang Hyuk-jin
3 eps
Oh Hyun-kyung
Kim Yeon-hee
6 eps
Chu Sang-mi
Shim Gyu-jin
7 eps
손기철
Reporter
1 eps
Kaare Svejgaard Olsen
Ambassador
1 eps
Kim Kyu-do
Prosecutor
1 eps
이흥윤
Plaintiff
1 eps
Lee Hyeon
Defendant
1 eps
Kim Jin
Interpreter
2 eps
Yang Jo-a
Han Jin-yi
5 eps
Park Won-sang
Na Jin-chul
2 eps
Lee Hye-jin
Park Hyeon-jin
1 eps
Choi Gwang-il
Hong Il-kyung
3 eps
You Seong-joo
Baek Ui-yong
3 eps
Han Jae-yi
Hong In-ah
4 eps
Jeong Dong-hwan
Baek Jang -ho
1 eps
Shin Yeon-woo
Young Hong Hee-ju
4 eps
Kim Min-seok
Detective
1 eps
Yeo Min-goo
Arsonist
1 eps
Kim Moon-soo
Government Official
1 eps
Kim Soo-jung
Government Official's Wife
1 eps
Lee Seo-won
Nurse (Eps 3)
1 eps
Jeong Eun-ran
Caregiver
1 eps
Bae Seong-il
Park Sang-wook
2 eps
The Nutevio profile
TV DNA
How When the Phone Rings actually feels to watch, measured on the traits our editors track across every series.
Signature profile
When the Phone Rings reads strongest on Bingeability, Character Depth and Serialized.
How hard it is to stop after one episode.
How fully written and psychologically layered the ensemble is.
How much each hour depends on the one before it.
The sustained pressure the series keeps you under.
How often an episode ends on a hook you can't ignore.
How much the series is designed to affect you.
Visual ambition — scale, craft and set-piece filmmaking.
The scale, internal logic and texture of the world.
How often the series is genuinely funny, by design.
The story
What it's about
A rising politician and his mute wife's tense marriage begins to unravel after a call from a kidnapper turns their lives upside down.
Recently aired
Latest Episodes
Behind the series
Created by
Showrunners, creators, executive producers and the writers who set the voice of the series.
The craft
Key Crew
Directing, writing, production, camera, music and editing.
Writing
- Kim Ji-woonWriter
Direction
- Park Sang-wooDirector
- Wi Deuk-gyooDirector
Where to watch
Streaming
Availability verified against regional listings.
- NetflixStreaming
- Netflix Standard with AdsStreaming
If you liked this
Similar Series
Series that share this one's texture, not just its genre tags.
The Husband
2026
Moral complexity · Slow-burn mystery
Flower of Evil
2020
Moral complexity · Slow-burn mystery
Dare You to Death
2025
Moral complexity · Slow-burn mystery
Walking on Thin Ice
2025
Moral complexity · Slow-burn mystery
Love Between Fairy and Devil
2022
Character-driven drama · Similar storytelling style
Guardian: The Lonely and Great God
2016
Character-driven drama · Similar storytelling style
Petrichor
2024
Moral complexity · Slow-burn mystery
Doubt
2024
Moral complexity · Slow-burn mystery
Dongjae, the Good or the Bastard
2024
Moral complexity · Slow-burn mystery
Fool Me Once
2024
Moral complexity · Slow-burn mystery
Had I Not Seen the Sun
2025
Moral complexity · Slow-burn mystery
Dalah: Death and the Flowers
2025
Moral complexity · Slow-burn mystery
Where to go from here
Watch Next
Our editors' suggestion for the show you should start tonight — and why.
Off Campus
2026
Another masterpiece of long-form storytelling, chosen to follow this one.
The Blacklist
2013
Watch this next if you like protagonists you can't quite defend.
Tracker
2024
A crime story told with the patience of a novel.
Prison Break
2005
Another morally complex epic for anyone who wanted more grey.
Criminal Minds
2005
Watch this next if you like protagonists you can't quite defend.
Furious
2026
A crime story told with the patience of a novel.
Never stop watching
Related Collections
No related collections yet
This title isn't in a published Nutevio collection yet. It will appear here automatically as soon as it is.
Join the conversation