"Lead actors earn 20 billion, but supporting actors in China furious over 10% cut in hourly wage under 3,000 won"

Chinese Hollywood Hengdian Yingsecheng Actors Guild
Supporting Actors' Hourly Wage Cut by 10%... About 2,600 Won
"Price of a Milk Tea... Hard to Make a Basic Living"

The Hengdian Yingxuan Actors' Union in Dongyang City, Zhejiang Province, China's largest film and TV shooting set, has sparked controversy by cutting the hourly wage of extras by 10%. Hengdian Yingxuan is a massive set covering an area of 36㎢, featuring life-sized replicas of the Forbidden City and the Western Palace. On the 17th, China’s Dawan News reported, "The Hengdian Yingxuan Actors' Union notified that from the 15th, the hourly wage for extras will be reduced by 10%, from 15 yuan (about 2,890 KRW) to 13.5 yuan (about 2,608 KRW)."

The film set of Hengdian World Studios in China. Pixabay

The hourly wage of 13.5 yuan is even lower than the general minimum hourly wage of 20 to 24 yuan for part-time workers in Zhejiang Province. After deducting the 10% fee imposed by the actors' union, the actual hourly wage received by extras drops to 12.15 yuan (about 2,340 KRW). The union stated, “The film and TV industry has faced difficulties in recent years, and the production teams are under great pressure. We are adjusting the fee standards to promote the healthy development of the film and TV industry.”

Last year, Hengdian Yingxuan’s revenue reached 16 billion yuan (about 3.85 trillion KRW). More than 10,000 actors work there, and the number of support staff is known to be around 12,000. This wage cut is particularly shocking as it contradicts recent measures. In March, the union raised the hourly wage for extras from 120 yuan for 10 hours (about 23,100 KRW) to 120 yuan for 8 hours, and also increased the overtime hourly wage to 15 yuan. However, with this cut, the wage for 10 hours of work is now 135 yuan, and the overtime hourly wage has dropped to 13.5 yuan.

This immediately sparked criticism on Chinese social networking services (SNS). “Hengdian Yingxuan additional wage cut” rose to the top of real-time search keywords, and netizens responded with comments such as, “You can only buy a cup of milk tea for working one hour,” “Why don’t they cut the salaries of stars?” and “Lead actors can earn 100 million yuan (19.2 billion KRW) per film, but extras struggle to maintain basic living standards.”

The wage gap between lead and supporting actors is also an issue in Korea. According to a report titled “Study on the Actual Conditions and Improvement Measures of Actors’ Wage Systems” released last year by the Korea Broadcasting Actors’ Union and the Korea Broadcasting Performers’ Rights Association, the pay difference among drama actors can be as much as 2,000 times. The report found that the minimum wage (mode) currently used in drama production sites is 200,000 to 300,000 KRW per episode aired, which, considering the average number of shooting days (2.63 days) and average daily working hours (9.99 hours), is below the minimum wage level.