'The Queen of Tears' Spending 3.5 Billion Won Per Episode... "Top Actors' Fees Alone Are Several Hundred Million Won, Hard to Make a Profit"

Number of Movie and Drama Productions Reduced by More Than Half
Netflix "Reviewing 'Appropriate' Payment Rates"

"The difference in appearance fees between lead and supporting actors is about 20 times. Lead actors receive anywhere from 150 million to 700 million KRW per episode of a drama."

Drama 'Queen of Tears' still cut image.
[Photo by tvN]

On the 17th, this was stated by 20-year veteran actor Ryu Seung-su in the preview of MBN's 'Jeon Hyun-moo Project 2.' Ryu said, "As lead actors' appearance fees have skyrocketed, the number of films and dramas produced has been cut by more than half. If 120 productions were made annually before, now it's almost down to 50," adding, "Actors who are not at the lead level cannot make a living. Some even take on two jobs." This is because production companies have found that not producing content has become a way to survive.

Due to the soaring appearance fees, production costs have risen so much that it has become difficult to make a profit even with a 'blockbuster.' The domestic largest drama production company, Studio Dragon, has also shown a marked decline in performance. According to Samsung Securities, Studio Dragon's Q3 sales decreased by 47.7% year-on-year to 113.7 billion KRW, and operating profit plummeted by 91.1% to 1.9 billion KRW.

The biggest cause of the performance decline was attributed to the hit drama 'Nunmul-ui Yeowang' (The Queen of Tears). The impact of this drama, which aired in March and April, negatively affected Q3 results. It is reported that the amortization cost for 'Nunmul-ui Yeowang' alone in Q3 reached 10 billion KRW. Although the drama recorded the highest viewership ratings in tvN history, the production cost was 3.5 billion KRW per episode, totaling 56 billion KRW, making it difficult to expect profits, which caused the stock price to halve.

However, the fees for lead actors remain sky-high. For top star-level famous actors, it is not uncommon to demand 1 billion KRW per episode. In response, Netflix, which led the surge in actors' fees, has begun reviewing the 'appropriate level' of appearance fees. A Netflix representative said at the 'Next on Netflix: 2025 Korean Film' media event held on the 4th at Park Hyatt Busan in Haeundae-gu, Busan, "In fact, K-content is doing very well and is loved and successful globally, but if production costs continue to rise like this, it will ultimately boomerang," adding, "We are considering that providing appropriate budgets and appropriate appearance fees would be good for both actors and productions. There are no specific guidelines or regulations, but we are discussing appropriate appearance fees."