How much are top Korean actresses paid?

These two file photos show actresses Song Hye-kyo, left, and Jun Ji-hyun. Korea Times file

By Yoon Ja-young

With the rising popularity of Korean dramas around the world, salaries paid to actors and actresses have also risen dramatically. The top actresses appearing in Korean dramas are now paid over 200 million won ($170,000) per episode.

According to the Hankook Ilbo, sister paper of The Korea Times, Song Hye-kyo and Jun Ji-hyun, popular actresses whose dramas are currently on air, are each making over 200 million won per episode. Song is currently playing the lead in SBS's melodrama, "Now We Are Breaking Up," while Jun is starring as a mountain ranger in tvN's mystery series, "Jirisan."

While the salaries of the actors and actresses are not made public in most cases, it was reported that Song was paid over 100 million won per episode in tvN's "Encounter," which aired in 2018. The actress was already among the most sought-after stars when she enjoyed surging international popularity with "Descendants of the Sun," one of the most talked about Korean dramas of all time.

Jun, who starred as a top actress in SBS's mega-hit romantic comedy, "My Love from the Star," reportedly received over 100 million won per episode in the drama that aired in 2013. She has also been one of the top picks for TV commercials for many years.

Actor Kim Soo-hyun / Courtesy of Coupang Play

The Hankook Ilbo pointed out that there is a salary gap between actors and actresses. While there are only a handful of actresses, including Lee Young-ae, Son Ye-jin and Go Hyun-jung, who are known to be paid over 100 million won per episode, actors who earn as much are more common, according to the newspaper. In the case of Kim Soo-hyun ― one of the country's top hallyu stars, who took leading roles in "My Love from the Star" and "It's Okay to Not Be Okay" ― recently made headlines for reportedly getting 500 million won per episode in Coupang Play's original series, "One Ordinary Day." In "It's Okay to Not Be Okay," Kim was reportedly paid 200 million won per episode.

While the top stars have contributed to the popularity of K-dramas, there are also complaints that their soaring salaries are taking up a huge part of the production costs, making drama producers rely heavily on product placement, or the promotion of products through TV shows, to make up for deficits.

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