Reviews

Mindless entertainment

This is the type of drama where you have to turn off your brain, values and pretty much all sense of... well everything and just let it go and let the stupidity lead you to that next episode. In this highly bingable low quality high entertainment drama.

While many dramas will ave you dreading the inevitable brek-up before reconciliation this one had me cheering for the misunderstandings to pile up so that the female lead would finally dump the male lead and settle for a cat, a goat or some cute playboy (or girls) far, far away...

It is also a drama that even with brain power off still had me wondering, if the male lead knows he cant control himself after drinking two drops of alcohol, why does he still drink alcohol?

Why does the male lead look like a dog trying to dominate another dog when he kisses the female lead?

And why do all the kisses look either fake no lips attached or like they are trying to take a bite out of the other persons lips?

It also offers some of the worst cross dressing out there... But I do believe I did spot a lesbian confession somewhere around the end along side a lesson in girls can also be programmers. So between the toxic, the lack of communication, the bad, the landscape of red flags and more or less sexual dominance/assault... and the double standards there seems to be som kind of a women can agenda as well...

Making me wonder what the ***** the writer, producer and censorship officer where thinking when they made/passed this drama, but I also want to thank them all for this mindless entertainment I so desperately needed thus rating it an 8 .

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Love or Obsession? Unpacking the Complexities of "Drama When Phone Rings"

"Drama When Phone Rings" delves into the haunting dynamics of a marriage where love—if it can even be called that—lurks in silence for years, only to surface under extreme and desperate circumstances. The drama portrays a husband who claims to have loved his wife all along but failed to express it for three years, leaving viewers to question whether his so-called love is genuine or merely an unhealthy obsession.

True love involves action, care, and a willingness to nurture a relationship. The husband’s three years of indifference show none of these qualities. Despite his alleged feelings, he made no effort to communicate, to make his wife feel valued, or to work on their marriage. This lack of effort and engagement suggests that his "love" might not be as pure as it seems. Genuine love inspires vulnerability and a desire to connect, but his behavior implies emotional apathy—or worse, a controlling mindset where he doesn’t feel the need to prove or share his affection.

When his wife pretends to be a kidnapper, it is a desperate act of seeking validation in a marriage that has emotionally starved her. His sudden change of heart and willingness to show affection only after this dramatic plea feels reactive and superficial. It raises an unsettling question: is this really love, or is it his obsession with possession, control, or the idea of his wife, rather than her as a person?

Obsession often masquerades as love, but it is fundamentally self-centered. It is more about holding onto someone than genuinely caring for their happiness or well-being. The husband’s years of emotional neglect, coupled with his delayed response only when provoked, make it hard to see his feelings as anything more than a possessive obsession. His actions don’t stem from a realization of her worth but from the fear of losing her—a response driven by his ego rather than true affection.

The wife’s decision to stay or accept his newfound love is equally complicated. Should she trust that his feelings are real, or should she recognize that his "love" is contingent on her begging for it? The drama challenges viewers to grapple with these dilemmas, ultimately leaving a sour aftertaste. It underscores the painful reality of relationships built on unbalanced emotional investments and the danger of confusing obsession with love.

In the end, "Drama When Phone Rings" serves as a cautionary tale about the need for communication, emotional honesty, and mutual effort in love. It leaves viewers questioning the husband’s motives, the wife’s choice, and whether a relationship like this is even worth saving.

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If you’re not watching it now, then when will you???

An enormous fan of Yoo Yeon Seok, I heard this drama was about to air. So, I just casually decided to watch it without even knowing the plot or checking the trailer. Boy, I decided the right thing. This drama keeps you engaged right after it starts. Chae Soobin often keeps low profile in her dramas. But here, ufff the chemistry between the leads is so hot and interesting. Soobin just keeps getting better and better. The story is very interesting with unpredictable characters and the cinematography is so aesthetically pleasing. After each episode, you are only left with one line- When is the next episode coming, I can’t wait. ❤️

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Absolutely amazing

An amazing watch! The story ties everything together seamlessly, with every detail connected to the main plot, yet it never feels overwhelming or overly complex. Character development makes perfect sense, and nothing feels abrupt or out of place. Usually, when the FL is portrayed as strong, they turn her into someone remarkable, a genius scholar or martial artist —nothing wrong with that, but it's not the only way. This FL is naive, feminine, and sometimes powerless, but still strong in her own way. The fairy makes pivotal decisions on her own, not "strong" in the conventional sense, but certainly not your typical pure-hearted damsel in distress either. It's so refreshing to see a female lead who is both influential and strong without losing her pure, angelic vibe. If you're looking for a story with love, family bonds, friendships, and a gripping mix of war and politics, all with a dash of humor, don't miss this one!

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Short n sweet ;)

This series is sooo short, it's among the shortest dramas I've watched!

This is also one of my main complaints: I wish this series was longer :(

But overall, I liked the format of the series, although the game aspect of looking back at their past felt a bit gimmicky to me and I wish that they'd showed more of their relationship in the past as it truly was because it also made me a bit confused.
Anywho, the production really made good use of the limited amount of time they had making the series have a good balanced ending but with a bit more time I know they could've gotten a bit more potential out of it.
I still liked the series because the acting was excellent and the colours of the series were super pretty.

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Brewing frustration

This is such a poorly written show. It's hard to believe that, with an experience cast and crew, the show producers and writers made made such a mess in setting the show narrative tone.

The main storylines are incoherent and intertwined with some off the most basic humor that i saw this year. The suport characters are completely hollow. They just shout and make weird faces. One or two ahjummas are also on Virtuous Business and they were good in this show, because the writers and director created scenes that show their humanity and personality. They are not just screaming cardboard cutouts. 

There's also the feeling that something feels off with the main characters due to the erratic story progression but mainly because on some scenes the actors don't have anything to hang on. Sejeong in the "action scenes" does not seem to be in character but just performing some stunt like in some variety show showing her physical prowess. It's a shame to see actors wasting their talent with such shallow roles.

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Watchable once -- but barely

The show is about Haruta, a 33-year old real-estate salesman, and the multiple people chasing him. His boss, his colleague + roommate, his childhood friend, and another colleague.

First of all, I thought this was BL when I started, and did not like the older character's presence (the boss). I understand that old people can of course love, and age doesn't matter, , but, to quote from the show itself, "love is not always pretty" and the director's obsession with his subordinate was not pretty.

I found the 2 leads having severe lack of confidence. To me, if you don't trust your own love to be valuable to the other person (like Maki), your love is not that sincere. Haruta also, with his going along with everyone who courted him and his shouting and screaming, was far from watchable.

The plot dragged a bit here and there, and I am not a fan of suspense until the last 25% of the last episode. The acting was cringy from the director and Haruta, but the others did well.

If you are looking for chemistry, there is none from Haruta towards any of his suitors.
Overall ok, but not re-watchable.
Oh, and I found Maki, the director's wife, the childhood friend, and the tall young man who courted the Director's wife very good-looking.

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Mediocre

Two people are struggling to find their way and overcome their troubled pasts. One leaves home, while the other leaves the city. To distract themselves from their unpleasant pasts, they immerse themselves in work. Eventually, their paths cross, and they begin to enjoy each other's company, feeling happy, serene, and at peace. However, an incident occurs, and they work together to solve the mystery surrounding it. Surprisingly, the incident is linked to one of them. In the end, they live happily ever after.

This is a glimpse of the story.

The acting was good, but the story may not hold your attention due to the many dull subplots. Additionally, there is no romance between the main leads, which might leave some viewers disappointed.

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Needed more CEO shooters

There are already over 100 reviews of this drama so I’m going to focus mostly on the class politics of The Story of Pearl Girl. It’s the fatal flaw of this drama and, oh boy, there’s a lot to chew on.

Before I get to that, a quick note on the gender politics. I hard agree with PeachBlossomGoddess who identifies bad gender politics as one of the key flaws at play. Indeed, I was incredibly worried when the ML strayed into Overbearing CEO* territory for a few episodes. Fortunately, the writers didn’t fully pursue that angle, but did ultimately undermine the FL’s fiery spirit in other ways (as PeachBlossomGoddess’s review describes in more detail).

What I think killed The Story of Pearl Girl was its frustratingly contradictory class politics. Now, I promise I’m not about to call the FL a class traitor like I did to Wei Lingyou in my review of Yanxi Palace**. However, what started as a strong underdog narrative for Duanwu in the first half of the drama, collapsed in the second half. Let’s consider the good part first, shall we?

For me, the highlight of the first 18 episodes is the condemnation of the Lawful Good character (don’t worry, we’ll get to ep 18 in a jiffy). This Lawful Good character is embodied by government official Zhang Jinran who believes that, if everyone simply followed the law, then all would be well. Of course, he fails to realise that it takes a high level of privilege – particularly class privilege – to act within the confines of the law.

Our ML, Yan Zijing, is quick to point out that while Zhang’s intentions may be good, his methods are crap: “Mr Zhang, you have a heart to save others but lack the power to do so.” Our FL, Duanwu, backs up this critique of the Lawful Good approach and tells Zhang, “You’re a man on top. You don’t understand how we [the bottom class] are.” This makes perfect sense. After all, even though Duanwu has escaped slavery as a pearl diver, she still struggles to survive. This clap-back at Zhang’s character is incredibly refreshing given the ‘Good Governance’ narrative*** tends to be heavily promoted in most Chinese costume dramas.

However, before the pivot point of ep 18, there were a couple of red flags that things were about to go astray. First, is Cui Shijiu. Shijiu is the daughter of the Cui family that owned the pearl farm on which Duanwu was enslaved. She starts out as a cruel Girl Boss but, after several twists and turns, ends up in a sticky situation. It’s at this point she likens herself to Duanwu. “How am I different from her?” Shijiu says, “Both of us struggling in this world, just trying to grasp our own fate.” Ummm gurl… one of you was a slave, and the other was the master. You cannot get more different than that. Unfortunately, her line of thinking crops up later in the drama (and I’ll get to that below).

The second red flag was Yan Zijing’s appraisal of Duanwu as she works her way up the (metaphorical) ladder on his trade ship. He remarks of her quick progression, “She wants to stand on her own…Many people in this world are stuck in misery, yet don’t want to lift a finger.” Other than the fact this sounds like the ‘dole bludger’ narrative that comes from the lips of conservative politicians, this assessment also misses many factors. One: Yan Zijing doesn’t acknowledge that Duanwu has a lot of natural talents that can be commercialised. i.e. you need more than effort alone. Two: pretty privilege. Big time.

And then finally comes episode 18. This is when the underdog narrative dies. It dies alongside a big handful of characters: all are Duanwu’s lower class friends. She also loses Shrimp, the only character left from her pearl farm days. By killing off all these characters in the Desert Ambush scene, the storyline also effectively severs Duanwu’s class roots. Henceforth, she joins the class of Small to Medium Enterprise owners (read: merchants) and realises her individualistic Girl Boss ambitions.

And…so what? Well, Duanwu enters the jewellery business. And she does so without blinking, which is surprising given she knows that pearls are the aquatic equivalent of blood diamonds. She is fully aware of the cruel supply chains on which she relies to create her jewellery. Yet, they are never mentioned. They are kept entirely off-screen. As far as we know, the pearl farm continues on the same, likely under different management after the fall of the Cui family. All the while – or at least after their brief separation – Yan Zijing pats her on the head and tells her what a good little Girl Boss she is.

I was still interested in seeing what would happen with Cui Shijiu after going through a whirlwind of ups and downs. Her story was a lot more interesting, embracing the complexities of a villain you can’t help but feel for. Near the end of the drama, Shijiu and Duanwu forge an unlikely alliance where Shijiu finally recognises Duanwu as her equal. Purely because she’s her commercial equal. A fellow Girl Boss. Duanwu even refers to Shijiu as her “confidante” and the chumminess between these two leaves a real bad taste in the mouth.

And that bad taste is what The Story of Pearl Girl ends on. Thank god Liu Yu Ning looks good in purple, cos that was the only redeeming feature of this drama.

===

* I use the term “Overbearing CEO” the way Geng Song does in his fantastic article on Chinese workplace dramas, found here: https://www.euppublishing.com/doi/full/10.3366/mclc.2023.0031

**My Yanxi Palace review, ‘Wei Yinglou is a class traitor. Change my mind.’ https://mydramalist.com/profile/TheUnhinged/review/305311

*** I talk about the ‘Good Governance’ narrative more in my review of The Double: https://mydramalist.com/profile/TheUnhinged/review/392435

PeachBlossomGoddess’s review: https://mydramalist.com/profile/PeachBlossomGoddess/review/408704

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Mature, Understated, but Beautiful

If you're looking for a romantic drama or a mystery/thriller drama, then look somewhere else. This felt more like a meditative exploration of what relationships can look like. I personally loved it. I loved that it was a wholly mature, no emotional melodrama BS that kdramas are known to dish out on popular demand. I wish they delved more into the backstory of NM agency instead of being this shrouded in mystery organisation. That would've added more depth to the story. Other than that, I loved the acting, the cinematography, the story, and most importantly, the framing of the story. Its not always that we see mature, muted, understated kdramas, and I truly think we need more of these.

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It's really really good

First of all, I have not read the novel, manhwa or watched the animation. Many people are comparing this with a different show which has ultimately very loose connection with this show. It is a standalone show with great cast.

Acting is very good 👍. Each character, even if they are there for a few scenes throughout the series have put their efforts. Main leads shine very much.

The first few episodes are bit rushed out. But then the pacing was perfect and super enjoyable. Ultimately, I loved this show very much.

I wish they make second season of this because it kind of end at a major plot point.. 🤞🤞🤞🤞

(I have only watched the last episode of that earlier show. That felt very shallow and disconnected. This is much enjoyable in every aspect. No connection with that show imo)

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