Which K-Drama Actors Earn The Most Money?

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Kim Soo Hyun
Hyun Bin
Jo In Sung
So Ji Sub
Lee Min Ho
Kim Woo Bin
Lee Jong Suk

Which k-drama actors make the most money? A recent article in the Korean media outlet joins.com ranked the top earners by their earning potential.

Not only do these actors earn top dollar from their drama roles, but they also make plenty of money with fan meetings and endorsements.

According to the article, Kim Soo Hyun currently tops the list. He appeared in "You Who Came From The Stars" with Jun Ji Hyun and after that starred in "Producer" with Cha Tae Hyun, Gong Hyo Jin and IU.

Before appearing in "You Who Came From The Stars" his modeling price was almost $600,000 for an ad. But after that he earned between $800,000 and $1 million an ad. His drama roles have resulted in many lucrative endorsement deals that range from representing coffeehouse franchises to airlines. He has been referred to as the "King of Commercials."

Hyun Bin also tops the list of well-paid actors. He is rerpoted to have been paid $100,000 per episode for "Hyde, Jekyll and I," his first drama after serving his two-year mandatory military duty.

So Ji Sub makes about $80,000 per episode and has been paid that much since he appeared in the drama "Phantom." He is expected to make at least that much when he appears in the drama 'Oh My God" with Shin Min Ah.

Jo In Sung also earned as much for episodes of "That Winter The Wind Blows" and probably also for episodes of "It's Okay, That's Love" with Gong Hyo Jin."

After that the top earner is reported to be Song Joong Ki, who will next be seen in "Descendants of the Sun" with Song Hye Kyo.

Lee Min Ho, Kim Woo Bin, Lee Jong Suk, Joo Won and Ji Chang are some of the hottest actors at the moment and they also earn top dollar for drama and film roles, as well as endorsement deals. 

For example, Kim Woo Bin earns about $8.6 million a year. According to Newsen, Kim Woo Bin's 2014 fan meetings in China sold out in five minutes. Almost 13,000 fans spent more than $1 million for the chance to see the model-turned actor. He also received plenty of endorsement deals after appearing in the drama "The Heirs" and the films "Twenty" and "The Con Artists."

And what about the up-and-coming idol actors? Park Hyung Sik, who appeared in "The Heirs' and recently starred in "High Society" earns about $10,000 per episode. Yook Sung Jae, who played second lead in "Who Are You - School 2015?" and will soon co-star with Moon Geun Young in "The Village - Achiara" earns about the same. Lee Joon, last seen in "Heard It Through the Grapevine" is also said to be in the same pay range.

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