K-ent Reports that Kim Soo Hyun Sets New Record in K-drama Pay for One Ordinary Day, Female Actresses Remain Woefully Underpaid Compared to Actors

Another year another record I guess, and once again the headliner is top Hallyu actor Kim Soo Hyun. For his starring role in the upcoming drama One Ordinary Day (That Night), he is reportedly paid $500 million won per episode, which is 2.5x higher than what he got paid for his last drama It’s Okay to Not be Okay. Conversely the article reports that the actresses are still hitting the glass ceiling in pay. Kim Hee Ae got $80 million won per episode for The World of the Married and the one actresses to break $100 million won per episode are Jeon Ji Hyun, Song Hye Kyo, Lee Young Ae, and Son Ye Jin, no other actresses can break that mark. But it’s different for actors as many are getting paid over $100 million won per episode including Bae Yong Joon, So Ji Sub, Lee Byung Hun, Hyun Bin, Lee Seung Gi, Song Joong Ki, Lee Min Ho, and Park Bo Gum. And the most recent addition to that actor group includes Lee Je Hoon who got over $100 million won per episode for Taxi Driver. The article further discusses what goes into an actor/actress pay: box office, ratings, buzz, and domestic as well as international popularity. So because the audience for K-dramas remain overwhelmingly female viewers, it’s the actors who are the “money trees” that bring in viewers so that is why their pay is so much higher.

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Park Seo Joon Tops the Actor/Actress Group in the 2021 Forbes Power Celebrity List for South Korea

The Forbes 2021 ranking of Power Celebrity is out for South Korean entertainment and it includes not just actors and actresses but all celebrities including sports stars and MCs. This remains more a snapshot of who had popular/breakout/buzzyworthy projects in … Continue reading

Hyun Bin, Kim Hee Ae, and Kim Seo Hyung Among the Next Release Batch in the Korean Actors 200 List

The release continues for the K-actor 200 list, the 5th release with the second half of the compilation left to come. It’s always interesting to see the cool collection in each release and this one has plenty of diversity and … Continue reading

Kim Dae Mi, Kim Hee Ae, and Park Bo Gum Lead the 2020 RACOI Values for 2020 Buzzy Actors and Actresses Combined with Drama Ratings

RACOI is a kind of system for value analysis in South Korea, achieved by estimating the value of broadcast program contents based on not only viewing rates combined with viewers’ responses from lots of social media activity (i.e. search, mentions, … Continue reading

Kim Hee Ae Tops the 2020 Best Actor/Actress Joynews Poll Followed by Jo Jung Seok, Jo Seung Woo, Hyun Bin and Park Seo Joon

Yes, the Queen slays and I love how she tops a poll followed by 6 men. The Joynews Korea 16th anniversary poll of the best actor/actress of 2020 is out, sampling over 200 entertainment industry professionals per the earlier poll … Continue reading

Top Stars Kim Hee Ae, Hyun Bin, Gong Hyo Jin, and Kang Ha Neul Receive Commendations at the 2020 Korean Popular Culture and Arts Awards

The 2020 Korean Popular Culture and Arts Awards took place this week in Seoul with an actual ceremony though very understated as it’s a government sponsored function. It’s organized by the government’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the … Continue reading

After The World of the Married Kim Hee Ae Expected to Vault to Join Top Two Highest Paid Actress Jeon Ji Hyun and Lee Young Ae Level of 100 Million Won for Drama Fees

The top two highest paid actresses in K-drama land has been the same for ten years – Jeon Ji Hyun and Lee Young Ae get 100 million won per episode (around $83,000 USD). Below them but with a significant gap … Continue reading

K-netizens Cast Votes for Their Pick for 2020 Lead Acting Drama Baeksang with Hyun Bin as Best Actor and Kim Hee Ae as Best Actress

The Baeksang Awards doesn’t have a popularity award and for the most part it’s stayed relatively true to its determination of merit over buzz despite nearly all Korean entertainment awards devolving into a popularity contest to draw in viewers. It’s … Continue reading

Kim Hee Ae is the Crowned Queen as The World of the Married Becomes Highest Rated Cable Drama Ever with 24.332% in Episode 12 Surpassing Sky Castle

All hail the new ratings champion on cable – jTBC Fri-Sat makjang melodrama The World of the Married took the topic of cheating and deceit and emotionally devastation to a new level of success as the most recent episode 12 … Continue reading