Ever wonder how much k-drama actresses make and who makes the most money per episode? Here are some answers. While the following figures may give you an idea of their bankability, remember that the pay scale my go up or down depending on the success of a recent drama or film.
According to a recent article in the Korean media outlet joins.com, Jun Ji Hyun currently ranks near the top of the pay scale. For each episode of "You Who Came From The Stars," she earned $90,000. Her new film "Assassination" is a hit and has already earned over $70 million at the box office.
It's a good thing she earned so much money in the last year as she will be taking time off to have her first baby.
Lee Young Ae, who will soon be seen in the drama "Saimdang: The Herstory," earns the same.
Song Hye Kyo follows closely behind, earning about $50,000 per episode. She'll be heading to the bank soon since her next drama "Descendants of the Sun" is set to air in the coming months.
Choi Ji Woo, who can soon be seen in "Twenty Once Again," is also k-drama royalty. The star of "Temptation" and "The Suspicious Housewife" earns the same amount per episode that Song Hye Kyo does.
Kim Tae Hee earns less than $40,000 per episode but considering that she spent the first two episodes of "Yong Pal" lying down, that's not bad.
Gong Hyo Jin earned a little less than $40,000 per episode for her recent drama "Producer" and that was surprisingly less than she earned for episodes of "It's Okay That's Love," which was considered a hit.
All of these actresses have been working for a while so they can be expected to earn top dollar, but Park Bo Young has only been acting for seven years and she already makes under $30,000 per episode. She currently stars in "Oh My Ghostess."
Shin Min Ah is at the same pay scale. She will soon co-star with So Ji Sub in "Oh My God."
But both actresses still makes more than Moon Chae Won and Park Shin Hye, who each earn under $25,000 per episode.
Idol actresses such as miss A's Suzy Bae and Girls Generation's Yoona also earn an impressive salary. Suzy Bae is about to co-star in "Uncontrollably Fond" with Kim Woo Bin. Im Yoona appears in the Chinese drama "Chinese Hero Zhao Zi Long."
Both earn around $20,000 per episode for their k-drama work although Chinese dramas are rumored to pay more than k-dramas.
