We're curious about the highest paid stars. How much money do Korean stars really make? We'll reveal it all.
The salary of the stars that come out in "On Air" is not just a story in a drama. We'll go through the best top 7 high paid stars. Seventh is the female detective Ko Hyeon-jeong of "H.I.T" She even took lessons for her action scenes. Her salary per episode of "H.I.T" was 35 million won ($US 35,000).
Sixth is Choi Ji-woo of "Air City". She came back to television with a drama that took place in an airport. How much did she get per episode? The highest paid actress receives 40 million won. Fifth is Lee Jeong-jae of "Air City", who also made a television comeback after 8 years. His pay per episode is 45 million won ($US 45,000).
Fourth is Park Shin-yang of "War of Money". He showed a new image as a loan shark, and his pay per episode was 50 million won ($US 50,000). Third was Song Seung-heon in "East of Eden". His pay increased after returning from the military, and his pay per drama episode is 70 million won ($US 70,000). Second is kwon Sang-woo in "Bad Love". He even invested in shares, and his pay per episode is 100 million won ($US 100,000).
Only first place is left. Who is the highest paid star? It's Bae Yong-joon of "The Legend". He also received the top acting award. His pay per episode was 200 million won ($US 200,000).
The highest paid star is Bae Yong-joon! Let's take a look at his profile. He debuted in 1994 with a gentle image. His drama "A Place in the Sun" portrayed him as a soft, warm man. He rose quickly with make-up and chocolate commercials in the 90s. But the drama that made him who he is was "Winter Sonata".
Through this drama, he stood in the center of Hallyu (Korean Wave) in Korea and Japan. And the drama that took him higher was "The Legend". Bae Yong-joon succeeded in coming back to television. But wait. Then how much are the salaries of the extras? They're 4650 times less.
Let's compare him to Japanese top star Takuya Kimura of SMAP. Bae Yong-joon receives four times more. But as much as he earns, he also pays a lot of taxes. He pays ten billion won in taxes. Then how much does he earn in a year? With dramas, commercials, and stocks, the total is 43.2 billion won ($US 43,200,000).
The brightest stars of all are singers. How much are the salaries of singers? Boa has prepared to enter Japan since her debut in 2000. She entered Japan in 2001 and first album 'Listen to My Heart', second album 'Valenti', third album 'Love and Honesty', fourth album 'Outgrow', fifth album 'Made in Twenty', and every album she releases takes to first place in the Oricon chart. Let's listen to how Boa succeeded in Japan.
Boa's economic worth is 200 billion won ($US 200,000,000). Boa has her spot in Asia as a top Hallyu star. Her yearly salary from albums, commercials, and TV appearances is 18.3 billion won ($US 18,300,000). Another world star is Rain. He went beyond Asia with his world tour. He is a multi-faceted star, receiving recognition as an actor. For his first movie, he received 500 million won ($US 500,000). His company signed a contract worth 10 billion won in 2007 ($US 10,000,000). Is it impossible to put a value on Rain?
Opposed to these famous stars, the decreasing of album sales is leading to an unstable music industry. For a new singer, the pay per episode of a music program is 150,000 won ($US 150). It is hard to earn a living just with singing so they go to special events.
The queen of events is Jang Yoon-jeong. Aside from broadcasting, events and commercials are her main source of income. She is paid 15 million won ($US 15,000) each time she takes the stage. Lee Seung-hwan has confessed something as the prince of concert. For princes of concerts, performances are also a source of income. Kim Jang-hoon, who donates ten millions, earns most of it from concerts.
University festivals are also a good source of income for singers. The most wanted singer is DJ D.O.C. They say a festival isn't one without Psy, then how much for one hour? 15 million won ($US 15,000)!
The most popular desired career for college students is announcer. They say the salary of announcers is less than expected, so how much? There are more announcers who choose to freelance. Kang Soo-jeong chose to freelance in the midst of controversy. What is the difference after working in all three broadcasting companies? It went up 125 times. Announcer Kim Sung-joo, who also chose to freelance, has promised his company a large yearly salary and a desire to develop himself. His contract was worth 1 billion won ($US 1,000,000).
This is not the end. There are many stars we haven't mentioned! How much are the stars in commercials worth? How about Hollywood stars? And how much does Yoo Jae-seok, the nation's MC, earn in a month? The stars' talents are revealed in dramas, commercials, and on the stage, and they receive their pay accordingly. Star's Life Style How Much will continue next week.
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