Actor Kim Soo Hyun in the movie Queen of Tears - Photo: TvN
This number is much lower than previous information that he received 14,7 billion VND per episode and is also lower than the movie. One Ordinary Day previously received by Kim Soo Hyun.
Reduce salary to support Queen of tears
The Korean entertainment industry pays great attention to the star power involved in a film project because they believe that the influence the stars bring to the project is great.
This is proven by the viewership ratings and audience response to the film.
Trailer for the movie Queen of Tears
Not far away, star Kim Soo Hyun contributed greatly to helping viewers come to the movie. The 6th episode of Queen of Tears reached a rating of 14,1%, according to Nielsen Korea.
Kim Soo Hyun's agreement to receive a lower salary than previous films is considered a positive move to help reduce the pressure on drama production costs, which are increasing significantly in Korea.
The decision also heralds a change in compensation for star actors, as companies face escalating production costs.
Consequences of rising salary costs
According to Hankook Ilbo, the biggest factor causing production costs to increase rapidly is the increase in actors' salaries.
With the development of global OTT online movie viewing services in Korea, the salaries of top stars participating in movies have increased significantly.
The movie Squid Game 2 stars Lee Jung Jae - Photo: Netflix
Like Lee Jung Jae, the main actor in Squid Game 2, was paid about 18,4 billion VND (1 billion won)/episode, and the salaries of A-list actors also gradually increased.
As costs skyrocket, the production burden on manufacturing companies also increases.
Meanwhile, during this period, Korean dramas and movies were considered frozen after the word boom Parasite and TV series Squid Games famous worldwide.
This freeze is due to the financial austerity of broadcasters and OTTs.
Before OTT like Netflix became popular, there were more than 30 weekly programs through terrestrial, cable and general TV channels, but now this number has decreased to 13.
Indigenous OTT companies have stopped or significantly reduced investment and production of television series.
According to the Korean Drama Producers Association, the number of domestic dramas scheduled annually has decreased from 141 in 2022 to 123 in 2023 and is expected to remain at around 100. in this year.
This is due to the decline in advertising revenue of television companies and the increase in television production costs.
The salary of Korean stars is 1.000 times higher than that of Vietnamese stars
Compared to Korean stars, the salary of the main actors and actresses in Vietnamese dramas sounds very "out of place": from 5 - 8 million VND/episode. Secondary roles in the film will be signed according to segments.
Thus, the salary of Vietnamese actors is nearly 1.000 times lower than the salary of Korean film actors.
