Cast of When the Phone Rings
When the Phone Rings is a Korean drama that follows a couple in a marriage of convenience whose relationship takes an unexpected turn after receiving a threatening phone call. The series explores themes of love, trust, and hidden identities.
Main Cast
Yoo Yeon-seok
Baek Sa-eon
Chae Soo-bin
Hong Hee-joo
Heo Nam-jun
Ji Sang-woo
Jang Gyu-ri
Na Yu-ri
About When the Phone Rings
When the Phone Rings is based on a popular web novel and brings together acclaimed actors Yoo Yeon-seok and Chae Soo-bin. The series combines elements of romance and suspense, creating a unique viewing experience that keeps audiences engaged with its twists and emotional depth.
About When the Phone Rings
When the Phone Rings is a South Korean drama that adapts a popular online novel. It centres on a presidential spokesperson and his wife, whose marriage is more complicated than it first appears, and on a kidnapping that forces the truth about both characters into the open.
Genre and tone
The show is a romantic thriller. Episodes balance suspense beats — a phone call that should not be possible, a secret communication channel between the leads — with longer character scenes that gradually reveal what each character has been hiding. The pacing accelerates in the second half, with each episode handing off a new piece of information.
Casting
Yoo Yeon-seok and Chae Soo-bin lead the cast as the central couple. The supporting ensemble includes intelligence and political figures connected to the husband's role, as well as personal contacts and family members whose loyalties become important.
Production
When the Phone Rings is produced for MBC in South Korea and distributed internationally through Netflix. Like many recent Korean dramas, it was filmed with a tight schedule and a strong visual identity, leaning into night photography and location work to match its thriller register.
Where to watch
The show aired weekly on MBC in South Korea, with international episodes added to Netflix on the same night. Subtitled versions in major languages are available on the streaming release.
Related cast pages
Viewers who enjoy contemporary Korean drama may also be interested in the Squid Game cast, the The Witcher cast, and the Citadel cast.
How to read this cast page
Cast lists work best as a quick reference rather than a transcript of the credits. The principal cast section above lists the actors most viewers will recognise from marketing and from the first episode or first act. The character each actor plays is shown alongside the name, with short relationship cues where they help.
Recurring versus principal cast
Television in particular distinguishes between “series regulars,” who appear in most episodes, and “recurring” or “guest” performers who appear only in some. Recurring cast can shift between seasons: someone introduced as a guest can be promoted to a regular role if the writers decide the character should stay. When that has happened on this title, we update the cast list rather than leave outdated billing in place.
Why character descriptions stay short
We keep character notes brief and free of spoilers. Late-season twists, deaths, and identity reveals are part of why audiences watch a show or a film, and a cast page that gives them away in the first paragraph is harder to use casually. If something is essential to introducing a character — a job, a family relationship, a faction — we include it; otherwise we leave it out.
Spelling and credits
Names are written here the way the production credits them. Where actors are credited differently in different markets, we use the credit listed in the production's official press notes. Stage names, mononyms, and special characters are preserved.
Suggesting changes
If you spot a name we have wrong, a character description that has gone out of date after a new season, or a credit that is missing, the contact page explains how to reach us. We update individual cast pages rather than rewriting the site, so corrections we receive turn into changes on this page directly.