MANILA, Philippines — "The Glory" is undoubtedly an ensemble drama, but with Hallyu star Song Hye-kyo in the top-billing, it had a guaranteed captured audience from the actress' huge global fanbase.
The recently concluded revenge K-drama ended on a high note and with Hye-kyo adding another notable drama and performance in her over 20 years in starring in some of the most popular K-dramas of all time.
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It makes many viewers wonder how much the actress is actually paid for leading a drama, and a South Korean journalist made a video that details the salary per episode or drama of popular K-drama stars.
"Jun Ji-hyun and Song Hye-kyo receive W200 million KRW (about $163,000 USD) per episode. Recently, thanks to Song Hye Kyo’s achievements on Netflix’s 'The Glory,' Song Hye Kyo’s salary will rise even more," said Ahn Jin Yong as quoted in a story published on Koreaboo.
Ahn is a journalist at South Korean news outlet Moon Hwa Ilbo.
Ji-hyun is Hye-kyo's contemporary who is also considered one of the original Hallyu stars with the actress. Some of her notable works include "My Sassy Girl," "Legend of the Blue Sea" and "My Love From The Star."
Ahn said that the actresses are paid less compared to their male counterparts, attributing it to the male actors' "stronger female fandom."
The journalist mentioned actors such as Hye-kyo's ex-husband Song Joong-ki, Lee Jong-suk and Ji Chang-wook.
"Per episode, (the actors) receive over W300 million KRW (about $244,000 USD) in guaranteed salaries. If you consider a 16-episode drama, then the actors make close to W5.00 billion KRW (about $4.06 million USD)," Ahn said.
He added that with the success of "The Glory," the actress' salary might increase.
In an article on TatlerAsia, it said that Hye-kyo is the 10th richest Korean star for 2023 with an estimated earnings of $11 million.
Most of the names in the Top 20 list are her contemporaries including So Ji-sub (No. 2), Lee Young-ae (No. 3), Choi Ji-woo (No. 4), Hyun Bin (No. 5), Jo In-sung (No. 8), Jun Ji-hyun (No. 12), Gong Hyo-jin (No. 13), Ha Ji-won (No. 14), Kim Tae-hee (No. 17) and Song Joong-ki (No. 18).
Relatively newer stars in the list include Kim Soo-hyun (No. 1), Lee Min-ho (No. 6), Ji Chang-wook (No. 7), Yoo Ah-in (No. 9), Lee Jong-suk (No. 11), Lee Seung-gi (No. 15), Park Shin-hye (No. 16), Shin Min-ah (No. 19) and Park Bo-young (No. 20).
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