Fans call for boycott of popular K-drama for ‘thinly veiled references’ to Israel’s war on Gaza
A popular Korean drama on South Korea’s MBC channel is under fire on social media this week for making “thinly veiled references” to Israel’s war on Gaza.
Many social media users suggested that the K-drama When the Phone Rings makes insensitive and inflammatory references to Israel and Palestine, which many pro-Palestinian viewers think was a subtle insertion of Zionist narratives by the showrunners.
Several clips from the show's latest and final episode of the first season, which aired on 4 January, have been shared on social media platforms with references to places called “Paltima” and “Izmael”, which some viewers quickly interpreted as being Palestine and Israel.
The show, originally aired on Netflix on 22 November 2024, is a political thriller about a rising politician.
In one clip from the episode, which is seemingly from a news report on TV, the reporter says, “The ongoing Paltima air strikes are taking place in Izmael where Korean nationals have been kidnapped by armed militants.” The user who shared the clip described her confusion around it and how it seemed to reference Israel and Palestine. Many social media users on TikTok reacted and commented on the clip, leading the way to a growing controversy around the K-drama.
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Some found the clip inflammatory. They suggested it was a misrepresentation of Israel and Palestine and Israel’s war on Gaza, which has been going on for 15 months now, after the Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel on 7 October 2023.
People accused the MBC channel of “twisting the facts” on Israel’s war on Gaza, which has killed over 45,000 people.
I just noticed this.
— daisy han (@kdramadaisy) January 5, 2025
'Paltima' and 'Izmael' this is definitely not a coincidence. It's totally unrelated and unnecessary to the plot but the production crew just had to insert their zionist viewpoint 😀🤡
shame on you @mbcdrama_pre https://t.co/oOcQRibq7T pic.twitter.com/FyknlsAw1z
Many fans said they would not finish watching the show, calling for a boycott and suggesting that “Zionist propaganda has no place in the media, mainly in artistic media”.
I won’t even finish when the phone rings after knowing the shit they did with that disgusting propaganda against Palestine. Totally unnecessary. Zionist propaganda has no place in the media, mainly in artistic media. #WhenThePhoneRings pic.twitter.com/vpZ49u0y6A
— nananana 🍉🤠 (@redlffc) January 5, 2025
Many fans also invited the MBC channel to apologise for bringing up such an important issue in an “inappropriate and embarrassing” way. They argued the decision to make subtle references to Israel and Palestine while “switching up the perpetrators & victims” made the show’s ending problematic.
WHEN THE PHONE RINGS is going down history with the SHITTIEST ending when they decide to reference the current genocide in Palestine 🇵🇸 but they switch up the perpetrators & victims while 🇰🇷 being peacemaker
— MAYA (@MayaxAru) January 4, 2025
It's like saying 🇰🇷 colonized Japan 🇯🇵 & China 🇨🇳 being the peacemaker pic.twitter.com/7SxgWTJ9OM
The increasing popularity of Korean dramas around the world has also caused social media users to call for a boycott of the show due to the high viewership.
Today, there are more than an estimated 220 million fans of Korean entertainment around the world - that’s four times the population of South Korea. The so-called Korean Wave swept the world, according to experts, when the success of streaming met American-inspired production value.
The South Korean entertainment sector, from pop music and mushy dramas to acclaimed hits built around universal themes, has also gained more international popularity with acclaimed pop singers such as BTS.
According to the latest reports from the United Nations agency for Palestine refugees, 1.9 million people have been displaced in Gaza since October 2023.
The UN has reported that around 7,700 newborns in the Gaza Strip lack access to lifesaving care, while the war is having devastating effects on the fishing sector, with the average daily catch between October 2023 and April 2024 dropping to just 7.3 percent of 2022 levels.
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