Netflix to Cap K-drama Star Salaries at 300 Million Won After Escalating Drama Budgets Caused by Salary Inflation
This is good news to stop the continuing ballooning of drama budgets, but unfortunate for stars that have soon to be produced Netflix K-dramas. The streaming giant is reportedly capping K-drama salaries at 300 million won (about $212,000 USD) per episode after it got to nearly three times that amount in recent years for super top stars. This will hopefully help spur production on more dramas with more funds to go around. Big name dramas that have been finished and have yet to air like IU and Byun Woo Seok in Wife of a 21st Century Prince will obviously not be impacted but the ones still to film like Solo Leveling with Byun Woo Seok and Han So Hee may see salaries drop. I’m sure this new ceiling will over time be raised but at least for now it level sets and creates a more fertile field for drama production.
That’s good. Many actors are unfairly overpaid based on their star quality more than their acting skills (I won’t name names since their stans might come for me, lol) and I think it’s only fair that more of the budget goes into production. Production staff are sadly underpaid and the production budget should include raises for them since they work just as hard as the actors.
I completely agree with you, the script made the actors/actresses, such as we had no idea who sandra bullock was until the movie SPEED came out, people work behind the screen also work hard too, why main leads took 3/4 of the pie. Famous actors/actresses still bomb the movie if not a good story/script.
You’re talking about per ep, right?
IU got 300 million per episode for When Life Gives you Tangerines, but Netflix refused to pay her the same amount for 21 Century Prince’s Wife. That’s why the drama still hasn’t got an OTT fixed by now, as Disney is willing but is not preferred by the actors.
Don’t get me wrong, celebrities get paid way too much as it is, but this does make me wonder if bigger stars will stop doing Netflix dramas then.
On a side note: this is also something Chinese dramas should do. It’s obvious when the entire budget goes to actors/actresses and not to the production.
Chinese dramas already have salary capping.
I wonder if it’s possible to work it out where the salary is capped, but if the drama is successful or gets desirable PPL offers, the actor can get a bonus.
I hope the salary cap means the money can go towards other areas of the production and not to line some executive’s pocket.
This sounds reasonable. Gone are the days that k-actors/actress can guarantee the show’s success based on their star power alone. Bonus will be a great way to compensate afterwards. Also hoping everyone can share in the profit bucket.
Agreed!
I think it’s good for Korean channels that couldn’t follow with those prices anymore.
C-ent has introduced a salary cap for c-actors/actresses since 2018.
If this will help in more dramas being produced, I’m all for it