As promised in the previous post, now we start delving into some character development of the main leads of When The Phone Rings Kdrama.
Paek Sa-Eon’s character arc in these episodes takes a very much loved turn. Initially portrayed as emotionally distant and guarded, his growing vulnerability becomes evident as he discovers the truth about Hee-Joo’s ability to talk and her identity as the phone caller 406. During their calls as they share fragments of their own truths, Paek Sa-Eon and Hong Hee-Joo get to face their prejudices, insecurities and fears.
Hee-Joo’s fiery side comes out when she is on the phone with him as 406 and gathers her courage to speak her mind and express her worries, wants and judgments. She way she always stated how Sa Eon married her for convenience and that he cares about nothing but his public image and his professional plans. The way she constantly stated how he doesn’t love her so he should let her go and divorce her, implicitly displays her true feelings, which are understandable and valid. When pretending to be 406, Hee-Joo is not scared to speak out and seek a door out of her marriage.
Paek Sa-Eon, on the other hand, is faced with how he failed to see from Hee-Joo’s POV all these years and how he unintentionally hurt her while trying to protect her. A pattern many humans are guilty of, whether parents towards their children, or partners. He got to realize how his behavior is not serving its real purpose and how wrong he was in being just inside his head instead of openly communicating with her. The way he got to face his wrongdoings, accepting them, and making efforts to improve his relationship with his wife shows how mature and healthy he is. At least how he is improving to be the greenest flag (as some say).
The way When The Phone Rings new episodes delve deeper into their vulnerabilities, their traumas and past gives us a clearer vision of their motives and intentions and automatically we can see fragments of ourselves mirrored in them. For example, Hong Hee-Joo’s accident and her mother’s abuse led her to keeping herself in the shadows, afraid and unable to live her truth. Psychologically, Hee-Joo suffered from a double-bind situation when she, as a child, was required to suppress her natural responses (e.g., speaking) to meet her mother’s needs, potentially at the cost of her own psychological well-being. This enforced silence could have lead to the internalization of the belief that her voice or emotions are not valid or safe to express, reinforcing her silence even into adulthood.
Another big psychological aspect is presented in her “Internalized Shame and Identity”. The manipulation by her mother and her inability to process the trauma might have led to internalized shame, where she feels fundamentally flawed or unworthy. The selective mutism might have become intertwined with her identity, making it harder to address in adulthood. Which also explains how she sees that “such happiness could never happen to her” (per her words) because she subconsciously doesn’t believe she could be loved unconditionally or that she deserves it.
Her anxiousness about Paek Sa-Eon discovering her identity as 406 also reflects a fear of abandonment (we can see that in her nightmare in Ep8 when she dreamed of Sa-Eon abandoning her the next morning of their confrontation) which is explicitly stated by Hong Hee-Joo in Ep8 when talking to Sa-Eon about finding out about his secret. She mirrored her own anxiety and fear and put herself in his shoes. This empathetic pattern usually helps humans bond and support one another which is a very inspiring aspect of the show. This in turn, helped Sa-Eon calm his worry about her judgment when his secret is out. This confrontation opened a safe space for both of them, especially for Paek Sa-Eon.
Paek Sa-Eon major character development is evident in how he faced Hee-Joo about his reluctance to having feelings for her and succumbing to the temptation of having a normal happy life with her. He expressed that it was never part of his plan to love her nor to accept that their marriage is true, after all he has a certain “plan” he wishes to accomplish and it doesn’t involve her. My thoughts are: he wants to make sure that whatever plans he is plotting, she understands that she was never part of them, and that he never took her as an act. It clarifies that he doesn’t take her for a fake wife and that he wants her to understand that no part of their relationship was never a mere theatrical play or lie to get to what he wants. It was all real and true for him. He further explains the reason behind his demeanor towards her all the past years and his hidden real feelings that were clear through his actions rather than words.
When The Phone Rings portrays in this context the transition from hidden feelings and thoughts into an open honest communication that does not leave room for misunderstandings. This is a psychologically huge leap of faith. We can finally see how they are becoming healthy communicators, and acknowledging their past mistakes. Both Hong Hee-Joo for her 406 calls, and pretend of selective mutism, and Paek Sa-Eon for his cold and emotionally distant demeanor.
Beyond its suspense and romance, When the Phone Rings delves into themes of identity, trust, and atonement. Sa-Eon’s journey to reconcile his past with his present reflects the universal longing for acceptance, while Hee-joo’s bravery in facing her fears highlights that vulnerability is a powerful strength rather than a weakness.
The open communication and honest self-expression in Ep7 and 8 of When The Phone Rings are what we all been waiting for and what we should aspire to practice in our human relationships. In my opinion, we all should learn such skills as we are showed through this k-drama what the consequences of miscommunication could lead to.
The two episodes are also highlighted by the smooth transition of the show’s inner-personality focus: from Hee-Joo, to Sa-Eon. In the previous episodes we got a narrative of Hee-Joo’s inner struggles and her part of the story, now we delve gradually to Sa-Eon’s in a very smart way (storytelling-wise). This is referred to as “narrative framing“ or “character-driven narrative perspective shifts”. Scientifically, this technique can be analyzed through the lens of focalization and psychological resonance.
What does this mean?
Narrative Framing/character-driven narrative perspective shifts
Focalization
This is a term from narratology that describes the perspective through which the events of a story are presented. In this case, the story transitions smoothly between the internal experiences of the female lead to those of the male lead. Her narrative serves as the primary focalizer that introduces and frames his perspective through her fear of him abandoning her had she learned his secret to his story. Neuroscientifically, it encompasses visual perception as well as cognitive, emotive, and ideological aspects of narrative orientation.
Emotional Contiguity and Narrative Causality
The concept of emotional contiguity refers to how one character’s emotional arc or trauma becomes the foundation for exploring another’s. By using her story as the gateway to his, the writers create a sense of narrative causality, where one character’s experiences organically lead into the other’s, making their emotional journeys interdependent.
Point-of-View Linking (POV Linking)
This is a storytelling method where the transition between character perspectives is used to deepen the audience’s understanding of both characters. It’s often employed to ensure smooth narrative flow and to reveal interrelated themes or shared traumas.
Empathetic Bridging
This technique involves using one character’s story to evoke empathy and prepare the audience to connect emotionally with another character’s journey. This creates a seamless narrative connection between their arcs in When The Phone Rings.
In academic terms, such a transition could also be seen as an application of interiorization in narrative design, where the inner lives of characters are revealed through interconnected storytelling layers.
There is more to say about this k-drama, and I’m sure I’ll be sharing more in next posts, so stay tuned.
Love,
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One response to “When The Phone Rings: Ep 7-8 Character Development”
[…] mystery in When The Phone Rings are off the charts. But let’s first talk about my favorite ever: character development. You can read more about Hee-Joo’s and Sa-Eon’s in ep7-8 […]