“When The Phone Rings” Rating Dropped to 1.4 after Twisting Facts about Genocide in Palestine?
Recently, it was noted that the rating for “When The Phone Rings” on Google Review has dropped to 1.4/5 stars, after a wave of criticisms about a scene in the K-drama’s final episode.
In particular, on January 4, the final episode of viral K-drama “When The Phone Rings” was aired, drawing massive attention. However, while the series has largely been praised by fans in the past, a scene in its final episode has sparked intense criticisms.
Specifically, there was a particular scene where character Na Yu-ri (played by Jang Gyu-ri) reported on an incident where the fictional nation “Paltima” launched an air-strike on the fictional nation “Izmael” and took several Koreans hostage.
While “Paltima” and “Izmael” are both fictional names, many believed they were implying the real countries Palestine and Israel, respectively. This interpretation has quickly spread across the net, not only angering international fans, but also Koreans aware of the recent situation between Palestine and Israel.
In particular, for more than a year, Israel has been bombing and committing genocide in Palestine, with various documented footage of the former’s inhumane atrocities that leads to Palestians struggling to surviving in unlivable conditions.
As a result, many accused “When The Phone Rings” of trying to twist the truth and painting Palestine as the perpetrator instead of vice-versa, showing a “Zionist” viewpoint (supporting Israel’s doing to Palestine).
Posts calling out the series have since attracted millions of views, with scathing comments from netizens.
“’Paltima’ and ‘Izmael’? This is definitely not a coincidence”, a netizen wrote, while another said, “The production team clearly had to insert a Zionist viewpoint when Israel is committing mass murder, leaving hundreds of thousands of children deaf“.
Upon seeing the rating drop, many fans of “When the Phone Rings” expressed frustration that a 30-second scene can ruin the efforts of everyone who worked on it.
“The actors deserve a raise for their outstanding portrayal of emotions, but the misinformation and unnecessary scene ruined everything. It’s so heartbreaking because the drama is genuinely good, and the actors put in so much effort. Yet, they received low reviews just because of a 30-second clip”, a netizen said.
Meanwhile, in the past, many K-pop celebrities have been criticized for similar matters. For instance, BLACKPINK’s Lisa was under fire due to accusations of her mother being a Zionist and her rumored boyfriend’s family supporting Israel (though both are unconfirmed speculations).
