Actor Fees Soar in โkorean Dramas: ‘Knock-off‘ Star Earns โฉ9 Billion, ‘Squid Game‘s Lee Jung-jae Reportedly Receives $1 Million Per Episode
Seoul, South Korea – The escalating costs ofโค producing Korean dramas are increasingly driven by record-high actor fees, with recent reports detailing ample โขearnings for top stars. Figures released โindicate that actor contributions now representโค a significant portion of overall production budgets, sparking โpublic discussion and, inโฃ some cases, direct responses from talent agencies.
Last month, reports โsurfaced that Park Hyung-sik received โฉ400 million per episode for his role in the Disney+ and KBS 2TV drama “Twelve,” totaling โฉ3.2 billion for his eight episodes. Ma Dong-seok reportedly earned โฉ500 million per episode of “Twelve,” accumulating a total of โฉ4 billion. These figures represent approximately one-third of โขthe drama’s estimated โฉ22-23 billion production cost.
Park Hyung-sik’s earnings are consistent with previous reports of โฉ500 million per episode for โขhis role in JTBC’s “Dr. Slump,” which concluded โin March of last โyear, allegedly totaling โฉ8 โคbillion โfor the 16-episode series.
The sensitivity surrounding actor salaries typically prevents official comment from agencies. โHowever, Park Hyung-sik’sโข agency, Lev Entertainment, โขissued a statement on the โข17th โof last month, clarifying that โฃreports were “becomingโ a fact that is being made differentlyโ from theโ actual facts.”
Kim Soo-hyunโ is reported to have earned โฉ500 million per episode forโฃ the Disney+ series “Knock-off,” a production with a โฉ60 billion budget.With nine episodes in each of its two seasons, Kim Soo-hyun’s total earnings for “Knock-off” are estimated at โฉ9 billion.
Currently, Lee Jung-jae holds the record for the highest reported fee, allegedly โฃreceiving $1 โขmillionโค (approximately โฉ1.35 billion at current exchange โคrates) per episode for Netflix’s “Squid Game Season 2.”โ Lee Jung-jae acknowledged the reports in a post-drama โinterview,โฃ stating, โ”It’s true thatโฃ it’s a bit misunderstood, โbut it’s true.” He further emphasized the importance of strongโค relationships, adding, “If the relationship isโ wrong, I can’t do anything. โI told each otherโ that it is indeed better โขto do it with โthe best conditions.”