Jo Yu-ri On ‘Squid Game 2’ ₩4.2 Billion Appearance Fee Rumor “I Burst Out Laughing, Never Touched Such An Amount”
On January 9, Jo Yu-ri sat down for an interview with MyDaily at a café in Sogyeok-dong, Seoul, where she discussed various topics, including Netflix’s original series “Squid Game” Season 2 (directed by Hwang Dong-hyuk).
“Squid Game” Season 2 depicts the intense showdown between Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae), who returns to the games vowing revenge, and the Front Man (Lee Byung-hun), as well as the resumption of the deadly games. Jo Yu-ri plays Jun-hee, a pregnant woman who lost a large sum of money after trusting her ex-boyfriend Myung-gi (Im Si-wan) with an investment.
Given the massive global popularity of “Squid Game”, the cast’s guarantees have garnered significant attention. Rumors have circulated that lead actor Lee Jung-jae received $1 million (approximately ₩1.4 billion) per episode for Seasons 2 and 3, totaling $13 million (approximately ₩18.2 billion). Reports also claimed that supporting actors earned ₩300 million per episode.
When asked about her appearance fee, Jo Yu-ri said, “Thank you for the question. There’s a rumor that I was paid ₩4.2 billion. When I first saw it, I burst out laughing.”
She continued, “I brushed it off very cheerfully. Although most people didn’t believe it, I noticed a few actually did. I can’t disclose the exact amount of my appearance fee or that of other actors, but ₩4.2 billion is an amount I’ve never even imagined or touched.”
Jo Yu-ri added, “It truly feels like a baseless rumor. I saw senior actor Lee Seo-hwan’s interview, and his reaction seemed similar to mine. That’s when I thought, ‘Ah, this is just a rumor.’“
She further explained, “From the moment I saw that post, I knew it wasn’t from a credible article or source—it was a random online community post that anyone could have written. I hope people don’t believe such things so easily.“
