This article is by Sarah Kim and read by an artificial voice.

Viewers of K-drama series may be familiar with the Netflix romance thriller "When the Phone Rings" (2024), featuring a sign language interpreter who works for the presidential office.

While based on a web novel, with a suspense-driven premise seemingly far from reality, the series highlights the importance of communication. Actor Chae Soo-bin stars as Hong Hee-joo, a woman living with selective mutism, who undergoes a highly selective process to be hired as a sign language interpreter for Paik Sa-eon, the presidential spokesperson and her secret husband, played by actor Yoo Yeon-seok.

In a case of reality catching up with fiction, the Korean presidential office is now offering sign language interpretation for press briefings for people with hearing impairments for the first time.

The sign language service was launched Monday at the joint press briefing between President Lee Jae Myung and To Lam, general secretary of Vietnam's Communist Party, following their bilateral summit at the Yongsan presidential office in central Seoul.

The presidential office said that sign language interpretation for briefings is "a measure to guarantee access to information and strengthen social integration and transparency in state administration."

Presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung's press briefing Tuesday, which announced Lee's first trip to Washington since taking office for a bilateral summit with U.S. President Donald Trump later this month, was also accompanied by simultaneous sign language interpretation.

"This is the first time that a dedicated sign language interpreter has been hired to provide sign language interpretation support in order to lower the barriers to participation in state affairs for people with hearing and speech impairments," the presidential office said in a statement.

The office said that sign language interpretation will be provided simultaneously for all briefings held in the presidential office briefing room, and that it plans to "gradually expand the scope of interpretation to include major events in the future."

This marks the first time that the presidential office hired dedicated sign language interpreters to provide real-time support for press briefings. Previously, broadcasters usually used their own sign language interpreters when airing presidential press briefings.

The Korean Sign Language Act was enacted in 2016, recognizing Korean sign language as the country's official language of the deaf. The act aimed at improving quality of life and increased participation in society for those with hearing loss.

However, according to a 2023 survey by the National Institute of the Korean Language, 62.9 percent of respondents said there was a need for sign language interpretation in public institutions. Some 86.8 percent of respondents indicated more sign language interpreters were needed in public, financial and medical institutions. These are areas where clear government communication is often most needed.

Public sign language interpretation services have been provided for government announcements and other public sectors since December, but presidential briefings have not been included.

The National Assembly began providing sign language interpretation for press conferences in August 2020.

"We will strive to create a society where every citizen, including deaf people who use sign language as their first language, is not marginalized," the presidential office said.