Yesterday, media outlets reported that Kim Soo Hyun became the most-paid actor in Korea. However, the people are expressing their displeasure.
On the 26th, OSEN reported that Kim Soo Hyun will be paid about $443,000 per episode in his new series, That Night (literal title). The actor’s agency Gold Medalist soon responded that they can not make any statements about the actor’s appearance fees.
Kim Soo Hyun was already the highest-paid actor in his latest series, It’s Okay to Not Be Okay. With the project, he made as much as $177,155 per episode. That was, by far, the industry’s biggest paycheck. But this time, Kim bagged a rather handsome pay rise: an extra $265,845 per episode.
When the news hit the wire, more criticisms circulated online rather than supportive comments, most of these criticisms are about how the majority of production cost that’s supposed to better the production environment and quality are going into actors’ pockets.
Recently, excessive product placements (especially Chinese products) in shows became an issue. Hence, the absurdly high appearance fees that require production teams to rake in more advertisements are causing concerns among the people.
Here are some of the comments: “Even Emma Stone got $350,000 per episode for Maniac.” “Kim So Hyun is a good actor. But $443,000? Really?” “This is why actors are eating Chinese bibimbap in Korean dramas.” “Just look for rookie actors with great acting skills. That would be better.” “Since he upped his fees in It’s Okay to Not Be Okay, more actors are demanding a raise in their fees too. This is a bad influence.”