When The Phone Rings Production Team Apologizes for Controversial Scene

 The production team of ''When the Phone Rings' has apologized for a sign language scene from the first episode.

In the first episode, aired on November 22, sign language interpreter Hong Hee Joo (played by Chae Soo Bin) is interpreting for a news program. Because of a transmission error during the live broadcast, the program suddenly freezes on Hong Hee Joo signing the word for “mountain,” but was mistakenly interpreted as an obscene hand gesture.

Read When the Phone Rings will not air for 2 episodes

After which, the drama came under fire for allegedly making fun of sign language which some viewers saying they were offended by the scene.

The production team has formally apologized on November 29 and clarifi3d that they did not intend to mock sign language.

Here's their official statement.

We apologize for giving you cause for concern through part of a scene about sign language.

The production team is taking very seriously the criticism that “When the Phone Rings” dealt with sign language inappropriately and, in the process, mocked the deaf and Korean sign language.

As “When the Phone Rings” is a drama that was produced around the important theme of communication between people, we had absolutely no intention of mocking or belittling sign language, which is a precious communication tool for the deaf. However, we humbly acknowledge that during the production process, the production team fell short in their efforts to more carefully study and portray the difficulties experienced by the deaf and those who use Korean sign language. As we wrap up the drama, we will take care and work hard to prevent this kind of mistake from reoccurring in the future.

In “When the Phone Rings,” sign language is an important subject that plays a crucial role in getting the two main characters to finally open their long-closed hearts and communicate with one another. Through the journey of the two characters who struggle to understand one another’s language before finally arriving at communication, we will work hard to ensure that [“When the Phone Rings”] is remembered as a drama that fully conveys the value of sign language as an important tool that connects one person to another. We ask that you continue to watch our drama with interest and criticize us if something is lacking.

Once again, we bow our heads in apology.

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