Kim Soo-hyun Earns ₩300 Million Per Episode, While Japanese Top Star Gets ₩5 Million: A Stark Pay Gap
On April 10, a post comparing Kim Soo-hyun’s fee with that of Japanese actor Shun Oguri circulated widely on online platforms. The post referenced NHK’s 2022 historical drama “The 13 Lords of the Shogun” and tvN’s hit series “Queen of Tears” starring Kim Soo-hyun. According to the post, Shun Oguri, who played the lead in NHK’s drama “The 13 Lords of the Shogun”, received about ¥500,000 (approximately ₩5 million) per episode. Another actor in the same series, Masaki Suda known as the husband of actress and model Nana Komatsu was reported to have earned around ¥200,000 (₩2 million) per episode.
In stark contrast, Kim Soo-hyun reportedly received ₩300 million per episode for his role in “Queen of Tears”. However, one media outlet noted that this was actually a reduced rate compared to his previous projects.
The post sparked heated debate online. Some netizens commented, “What’s the reason for such a big difference? Why is Korea so obsessed with celebrities?”, “They make tons from ads if the drama does well. That fee is just excessive” and “Too much of the production budget goes to the actors, which hurts quality in other areas and if the drama flops, the actors take zero responsibility. That’s frustrating.”
Others offered different takes, “Japan’s fees are too low” and “Funny how they compare it to Japan. If you compare with China, Korean actors seem underpaid.”
The stark contrast between the two countries’ actor fees has reignited discussions on production budgets, entertainment industry values and the economics of star power in Asia.
