Symbolism

"Phone" uses themes, symbols and motifs to represent Asian culture.

• 10-month pregnancy: In the film, Ho-jeong says that she carried her daughter in the womb for ten months. According to Wallace, Koreans use two different calendars-- a solar one and a lunar one. Both calendars are used in Korea to celebrate dates of birth and death, Wallace said. It can be assumed that the pregnancy was ten months because Ho-jeong was going by the lunar calendar.

• Honor: Although the theme was subtley alluded to, a big theme in "Phone" was that of honor. Jin-hie did not reveal Chang-hoon's identity to his friends to protect his honor and her own. Furthermore, Ho-jeong, who was very much aware of the affair, did not mention that she knew about the relationship in order to protect her and her family's honor. According to Wallace, honor and respect are very important in Asian society. Honor is so engraved in the society that people have killed themselves when they think they have lost it, Wallace said.