Kim Soo Hyun’s Queen of Tears fee: How much did the highest-paid Kdrama actor get for his latest gig? | Web Series

Even more up-to-the-minute media reports have now refuted the initial claims of South Korean actor Kim Soo Hyun receiving an 800 million won fee for his Queen of Tears role. The tvN romantic comedy title started airing earlier this month. Recording a benchmark with its highest viewership ratings, 14.1%, with Episode 6 on March 24, the A-lister’s series witnessed a popularity boost as he got embroiled in dating rumours with actress Kim Sae Ron. Already possibly deemed the highest-paid K-drama actor, Soo Hyun made it to headlines once more when speculations about his appearance fee sprung up.

South Korean media reports have propounded the idea that the actor is getting a lower price than his previous project, One Ordinary Day.

Kim Soo Hyun’s Queen of Tears fee

With rising standards and production value, actors are also demanding a heftier cheque validating their contributions to new projects. However, updated claims from an industry insider allege that the star considerably cut his own appearance fee to ease the burden on production costs.

Also read | New on Netflix in April 2024: Parasyte to Scoop, City Hunter, Crooks, and more

According to these new suggestions, it’s indicated that Kim Soo Hyun received a number smaller than what he received for his One Ordinary Day role. His salary for the former role was reportedly marked at 500 million won per episode. The It’s Okay to Not Be Okay actor’s agency, Goldmedalist, seemed unforthcoming as it has neither confirmed nor denied these assertions.

The K-drama’s production team and Studio Dragon have likewise denied the old rumours of Soo Hyun’s hefty fee. If they were to be true, the supposed fee of 800 million won per episode would have rounded out to a title of 12.8 billion won (with a 16-episode season), coming up to one-third of the reported 40 billion won production cost.

Additionally, Queen of Tears writer Park Ji Eun seemed to have influenced the 36-year-old star’s decision. The 2024 series marks their third collaboration, following previous projects, My Love From the Star and The Producers.