Korean actors are so famous among their fans. But the most fantastic part is that they are known not only in Asia but also in other countries. This makes them international stars as well. Not only that, they are followed by their fans on social media like Instagram, Twitter, etc. All thanks to their acting and music careers, their fan following is increasing daily.
However, Korean celebrities earned popularity mainly through their respective works. So, here we are going to point out all those Korean stars who are counted as the top 10 highest paid Korean celebrities in the world. Let’s start our blog with a smile!
10 Highest Paid Korean Celebrities Around the World
As we all know, Korean celebrities are best known for their works, especially as a musician or an actor. But what if we tell you that some Korean celebrities are getting paid an enormous amount for their respective roles? Isn’t it amazing? So, here we are going to share the list of the top 10 highest paid Korean celebrities whom you should know at once.
1. Kim Soo-hyun
Kim Soo-hyun is a two-time Grand Bell Awards Winner. This award show is considered equal to South Korea’s popular award show, “Academy Awards”. Kim is one of those Korean celebrities who are titled Big Stars of Korean Drama.
In 2021, Kim was part of “One Ordinary Day,” a remake of the original series “Criminal Justice”. One Ordinary Day became one of the popular shows of that time and got a good popularity score in Korean drama. Because of the success of this show, Kim was paid around $424,000 per episode and became one of the top highest paid Korean celebrities worldwide.
Kim got his first break in a Korean drama series Kimchi Cheese Smile in 2007. With this series, he got fame and a reputation from his fans. However, Kim went one step above in success when he did shows like Dream High (2011-2012), Moon Embracing the Sun (2012), and My Love from the Star (2013-2014). Other than that, he also worked in movies such as The Thieves (2012) and Secretly, Greatly (2013), which escalated his career.
Moreover, he also appeared in Hotel del Luna (2019) and Crash Landing on You (2020). Kim had a cameo role in both movies, and his fans loved his performance. But in the same year (2020), he came back in the Korean drama It’s Okay to Not Be Okay (2020), where he charged around $156,000 per episode.
Kim Soo-hyun net worth in 2023 is 117 million USD.
2. Lee Jung-jae
Lee Jung-jae is one of those Korean celebrities who are known for their roles in movies. But he got international stardom in shows, especially Netflix’s Squid Game. The show was released in 2021 and became one of the most popular shows to date. Lee received three awards for his performance in Squid Game and became one of the first Koreans who received awards in three categories. Lee’s awards were Best Actor Awards at the Critics Choice, Primetime Emmy Awards and Screen Actors Guild Awards.
Lee charged around $250,000 per episode for Netflix’s Squid Game. The show was nine episodes long. The show’s success opened the door for Lee to play his role in the second season. He is excited to work in the second season and waiting for Netflix to begin its shooting. All thanks to Squid Game, he became the second highest paid Korean celebrity worldwide.
Apart from his outstanding performance in Squid Game, his career as a movie actor has a fantastic record in the entertainment industry. He is still counted as one of the top actors in the Korean industry. He consistently received commercial and professional success in his thirty-year film industry journey.
Moreover, his performance in movies such as II Mare (2000), Over the Rainbow (2002), New World (2013), The Face Reader (2013), and Deliver Us from Evil (2020) are memorable for his fans. Besides his acting career, he also worked as a director for the movie Hunt and made good theatre collections.
Lee Jung-jae’s net worth in 2023 is 12 million USD.
3. Song Joong-ki
Song Joong-ki is one of those actors who made his debut with Korean drama shows. One of the most prominent roles in the Descendants of the Sun (2016) is that he played the role of a special force soldier.
Currently, Song received his commercial and critical success with Netflix’s Vincenzo. This series was released in 2021, and he charged around $171,000 per episode. The same year, he worked on his next project, Space Sweepers, a Sci-fi.
Song Joong-ki is famous for his outstanding performance in movies and tv shows. Not only that, but he is also famous for his good looks and attractive personality.
His works in Korean dramas and movies are remarkable, especially in Sungkyunkwan Scandal (2010), A Werewolf Boy (2012), The Battleship Island (2017) and Arthdal Chronicles (2019). Undoubtedly, all of these works are loved by his fans because of his exceptional acting skills. Joong-ki also did Bogota in 2021, a movie, and then he did Reborn Rich in 2022, a Korean drama.
Song Joong-ki’s net worth in 2023 is 24 million USD.
4. Song Hye-kyo
Song Hye-kyo is a well-known actress and one of the top-class Korean female actors. Her acting is impressive and unique, especially in movies such as Descendants of the Sun, released in 2016. She played the lead role with her co-star Song Joong-ki in this movie.
Hye-kyo appeared in Now, We Are Breaking Up, which is a Korean drama series. For this drama series, she charged $161,000 per episode, which is one of the highest earnings in the television industry. According to the source, she has become one of the world’s top 10 highest paid Korean celebrities. Because of her presence since the 1990s, she is also listed as one of the oldest Korean celebrities still working in their 40s.
Some of her notable works are Autumn in My Heart (2000), Full House (2004), That Winter, the Wind Blows (2013) and Encounter (2018). Other than that, she has also appeared in The Grandmaster (2013) and The Crossing (2014 and 2015).
Moreover, Hye-kyo has also worked for Bottega Veneta as its brand face. She introduced so many luxury options in fashion for the same brand. According to TMI News, she earned around $760,000 for product promotion which is also a high amount charged in the history of brand promotion.
Song Hye-kyo’s net worth in 2023 is 40 million USD.
5. Jun Ji-hyun
Jun Ji-hyun is considered one of the biggest entertainers in the Korean film industry. She is known for her fantastic performance in Korean dramas and movies. Jun’s fans call her Gianna Jun to represent her as an entertainer.
Jun’s international fans loved her performance in Kingdom: Ashin of the North (2020-21). This series is a sequel to Kingdom (2019) which was released on Netflix. Apart from that, she is a brand image of Alexander McQueen, which comes under one of the top luxury fashion brands.
Ji-hyun received her first Grand Bell Award for Best Actress for her performance in My Sassy Girl (2001). This movie is a classic romantic film and is counted as one of the best entertaining movies in the Korean language. Moreover, she received her second Grand Bell Award for her performance in For Daisy (2006).
In 1999, she debuted her acting career on the small screen tv series. After that, she appeared again in My Love from Another Star (2013-2014) and Legend of the Blue Sea (2016-17). The show got a good response from her fans, who praised her for her performance.
However, she got famous for her appearance in movies such as II Mare (2000), The Thieves (2012), The Berlin File (2013) and Assassination (2015). Apart from that, she also appeared in the drama series Jirisan in 2021, for which she charged around $161,000 per episode.
Jun Ji-hyun’s net worth in 2023 is 15 million USD.
6. Lee Young-ae
Lee is counted as one of those Korean female actors who are famous for their outstanding performance in Korean dramas and movies. She is known for her fantastic performance and is loved by her fans as a Korean entertainer.
A Korean drama series in which she worked with two other female actors Jun Ji-hyun and Song Hye-kyo, and charged around $180,000 per episode. This series is based on a murder mystery and was released in 2021 with a total of 12 episodes.
Even though she took more than 12 years to come back to her acting career, she is counted as one of the wealthiest celebrities in the Korean industry.
Lee got her international fame when she worked in movies such as Joint Security Area (2000), One Fine Spring Day (2001) and Sympathy for Lady Vengeances (2005). She received her first Grand Bell Award for Sympathy for Lady Vengeance. Apart from that, Jewel in the Palace is one of her masterpiece works, which received praise from viewers.
Lee Young-ae net worth in 2023 is 40 million USD.
7. Hyun Bin
Hyun Bin is one of those Korean actors who are known for their outstanding performance in Korean dramas. Also, he is one of the top 10 highest paid Korean celebrities. His appearance in Crash Landing on You (2019-20) is considered one of his best works. Not only that, but this drama series is also one of the grossing Korean dramas in South Korea.
Majorly, Bin played minor roles when he began his acting career, but he got famous when he worked in My Lovely Sam-Soon. This is a rom-com Korean drama series which was released in 2005. Other than that, two of his notable works are Secret Garden (2010-2011) and Memories of the Alhambra (2018-19). His performance in these series made him immensely popular, which inclined his per episode charge from $27,000 to $113,000.
Hyun is a good actor, and the movie Confidential Assignment 2: International is one of the top-grossing movies in the history of Korean cinema. He also worked in movies such as A Millionaire’s First Love (2006), Late Autumn (2010), and Confidential Assignment (2017).
Hyun Bin’s net worth in 2023 is 21 million USD.
8. Go Hyun-jung
In 1995, Go Hyun-jung appeared in Sandglass, which was quite popular among youngsters. This drama show broke all the records and stood as one of the top drama series during that time. But after some time, she married into a business and quit her acting career. Unfortunately, she parted ways with her husband and came back in 2003. After her return in 2003, she worked so hard to become one of the top stars among Korean female actors.
Her appearances in Korean drama series such as Queen Seondeok (2009) and Daemul (2010) are notable. Because of her outstanding performance in these series, she is counted as one of the top Korean entertainers. Apart from that, she is also counted as one of the top 10 highest paid Korean celebrities for her charge amount, which is around $86,000 per episode. Go Hyun-jung asked for this amount for work in the drama series Reflection of You.
Go Hyun-jung net worth in 2023 is 34 million USD.
9. Lee Min-ho
Lee has become the heartbeat for millions of Asians for playing the lead role in Boys Over Flowers (2009). According to the source, Boys Over Flowers is one of the successful Korean drama series.
Some of his notable works are City Hunter (2011), Faith (2012), The Heir (2013), Legend of the Blue Sea (2016) and The King: Eternal Monarch (2020). He is one of those actors who are counted as top-class Korean drama actors. But also, he is counted as one of those actors who fail as a movie actor. Still, he got the Grand Bell Award for his performance in Gangnam Blues (2015).
Lee got his international fame through Pachinko, which was released in 2022. This tv series is an adaptation of the famous novel of the same name, which is written by Min Jin Lee. His per-episode charge was around $80,000 before he appeared in Pachinko. But after that, he charged around $85,000 per episode. This made him one of the top 10 highest paid Korean celebrities.
Lee Min-ho net worth in 2023 is 26 million USD.
10. Park Bo Young
Park Bo Young started her acting career with Equal, which is a short film. But officially, she started her acting career with new actor Lee Min-ho in 2006. They worked together in the Korean drama series Secret Campus which is based on high school drama.
However, she was noticed by viewers in Scandal Makers. Thanks to this fantastic comedy movie, she has become one of the top stars in the Korean acting industry. Not only that, but she also received multiple awards in different categories, such as Best New Actress, Korean Association of Film Critics and so on. For her performance in Scandal Makers, she charged around $27,000 per episode. This made her one of the top 10 highest paid Korean celebrities for their role in Korean drama series.
Some of her notable works are Strong Girl Bong-soon, A Werewolf Boy, On Your Wedding Day, Concrete Utopia and Doom at Your Service. But she is considered the best actor for her role in Strong Girl Boon-soon.
Recently, she has been working in Morning Comes to Psychiatric Wards too, which is based on real-life experience. In this series, she plays the role of a Psychiatric nurse name Jung Shi-na. In addition, All of the US Dead directors are directing the series. So, it’s an excellent opportunity for her to show her fans how well she plays the scientific role.
Park Bo Young net worth in 2023 is 30 million USD.
Conclusion
Through this blog, we have talked about who are those top 10 highest paid Korean celebrities whom you should check at once. Also, we have covered some significant achievements such as awards, brand names, charges before and after success, and more. Apart from that, we have also covered some of their notable works so that you can watch them.
Our blog will reach out to your heart and provide all the necessary information you are searching for about your favourite Korean stars.
Rohan Anjan is a passionate writer who likes to write different kinds of content. Through that, he likes to explore the world of creative writing. Working as a content writer, he has covered different niches to enhance his abilities and skills. Besides, he spends time reading manga, watching anime, playing video games, and playing cricket and football. During his free time, he prefers to watch movies and web series if it matches his taste.
