8 Richest South Korean Actors

Sally Polly July 20, 2021 | 07:10

South Korea is the land for many young and talented actors and actresses, with a high net-worth and influencing social media to young generations. Let's check out the list of top 8 richest South Korean actors in 2021.

Below we present you with an important demanded list of the richest Korean actors 2021 and their net worth, featuring top male movie stars, the highest paid Koreans actors 2021. With the increasing global success and globalization of the Korean film industry, the past two decades has seen Korean actors like Lee Byung-hun and Bae Doona star in American films, Korean auteurs such as Park Chan-wook and Bong Joon-ho direct English-language works, Korean American actors crossover to star in Korean films as with Steven Yeun and Ma Dong-seok, and Korean films be remade in the United States, China, and other markets. The Busan International Film Festival has also grown to become Asia’s largest and most important.

As of 2021 the richest actor in South Korea is Kim Soo Hyun with an estimated net worth of $117 million Hyun is the highest paid in Korea too.

List of top 8 richest South Korean actors

8. Lee Seung Gi

7. Park Seo-Joon

6. Hyun Bin

5. Song Joong Ki

4. Lee-Min-Ho

3. Lee-Jong-Suk

2. So-Ji-Sub

1. Kim So-Hyun

Detailed information on top 8 richest South Korean actors

8. Lee Seung Gi

Photo: ABTC

Net Worth: $16 million.

Earning per episode: $59,000

Lee Seung-gi is a South Korean singer, host, actor and entertainer, known as ‘Ballad King’ among his fans and peers. Born and brought up in Seoul, he made his singing debut at the age of 17 after scouted by a talent agent. His very first song as a singer ‘Because you’re my girl’ became one of the most loved songs in that year and created a stir about ‘falling in love with an older woman’. He also became famous in Japan and emerged as one of the biggest South Korean music stars. Acting debut happened for him in 2006 with MBC’s sitcom ‘Nonstop 5’ and he received worldwide fame as an actor for ‘Brilliant Legacy’. He appeared in different roles in dramas, reality shows, and excelled in whatever else he did. He has won more than a dozen awards each for his acting roles and his music and remains one of the most well known faces in the South Korean entertainment world.

Despite his flamboyant persona on screen, Lee Seung-gi is known to have quite a clean and ‘good guy’ image in real life. He says that he doesn’t like to drink out and party like others. He doesn’t find any taste for that life.

Lee says that he has never taken drugs his entire life and doesn’t think that creativity requires an outside stimulation.

Singer Yoona and Lee dated for quite some time and confirmed their official relationship status in January 2014, but their separate busy schedules made it very hard for the relationship to work out and as expected, it ended in 2015 with both the stars claiming that they will remain good friends.

7. Park Seo-Joon

Photo: The Star

Net Worth: $21 million.

Earnings Per Episode: $25,000

Park Seo-joon is a South Korean actor who is best known for appearing in the TV series ‘She Was Pretty’, ‘Pots of Gold’, ‘Kill Me, Heal Me’, ‘One Warm Word’, ‘Hwarang: The Poet Warrior Youth’ and Fight for My Way. He has also acted in films like ‘Perfect Game’, ‘The Chronicles of Evil’, ‘Midnight Runners’ and ‘The Beauty Inside’. Besides these, Park has hosted the music program ‘Music Bank’ as well as the SBS Drama Awards. He has even worked in music videos for popular artists such as The One, and Kim Ji Soo. The South Korean actor is also known for showering love on his fans. He held his first ever fan meeting at Goyang Eoullimnuri Arts Center and greeted more than 2500 fans.

Talking about Park’s awards and honours, he earned the ‘Best New Actor’ award at 2nd APAN Star Awards function for his performance in ‘Pots of Gold.’ He also won the ‘Best Style of the Year’ award at 7th Herald Donga Lifestyle Awards event.

And there’s more to come! Park fetched the ‘New Star Award’ at the SBS Drama Awards function for his work in ‘One Warm Word.’ He has also received the MBC Drama Awards multiple times for his contribution to TV dramas ‘Kill Me, Heal Me’ and ‘She Was Pretty.’

6. Hyun Bin

Photo: Kdramapal

Net Worth: $21 million.

Earnings per episode: $83,900

Hyun Bin is an ace Korean film and TV actor known for his romantic roles in films such as ‘Late Autumn’ and ‘My Name is Kim San Soon’. Born and brought up in Seoul, the national capital of South Korea, he wasn’t really interested in making a career in acting at first, but the compliments he got for his good looks compelled him to try and he finished his bachelor’s degree in Theatre Studies to further hone his skills as an actor. In the 2003’s ‘Bodyguard’, Bin made his acting debut, and despite a slight backlash from his parents, he went on with a career in films, and eventually, after seeing their son climbing the ladder of success, the parents finally made their peace with Hyun. He climbed up to a nationwide fame with his role in the TV series ‘My Name is Kim San Soon’ in 2005. In the 2006 film ‘A Millionaire’s First Love’, which apparently became a worldwide sensation, he played Kang Jae-kyung and he became a universal heartthrob. Over the course of his career, he has won several awards at KBS Drama Awards, MBC Drama Awards and Baeksang Art Awards.

Hyun Bin took six months off from acting to complete his mandatory military training and in March 2011, he got himself enlisted in the Marine Corps as a part of his 21 months mandatory military service. He did his job flawlessly in what was known as the most difficult service branch and when he got discharged in December 2012 off his duties, he received appreciation from the military for being an exemplary soldier.

Hyun has always remained vocal against the animal cruelty and has raised voice on national and international level for the same.

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5. Song Joong Ki

Photo: Twitter

Net Worth: $24 million.

Earnings per Episode: $50,300.

Song Joong-ki is a popular South Korean actor, who became popular with his role in 'Sungkyunkwan Scandal' a popular South Korean historical drama series. Born in Dong District, South Korea, Song got the opportunity to begin his acting career while he was just a high school graduate. However, as he was still confused about his career path, he began acting full-time much later, when he was in his third year of university. He made his acting debut with 'A Frozen Flower', a South Korean historical film directed by Yoo Ha. The film was a hit and won several awards. He rose to fame after his appearance in the South Korean historical drama 'Sungkyunkwan Scandal'. The series earned a lot of popularity and won several awards as well. Later, Song joined the cast of the South Korean variety show 'Running Man'.

However, he quit after a short time. Over the years, his popularity grew and he appeared in several films playing important roles. He played a main role in the South Korean fantasy romance film 'A Werewolf Boy'.

The film was a monumental success. Other than acting, he has also released a book titled 'Beautiful Skin Project', which was a health and beauty guide for men. The book became a bestseller.

4. Lee-Min-Ho

Photo: Global Cosmetics News

Net Worth- $26 million.

Earnings per episode: $62,000.

Lee Min-ho is an accomplished South Korean actor and singer, considered among the top Hallyu stars of the day. Although he aspired to be a professional footballer since childhood, an injury suffered during elementary school forced him to give up football and follow his father’s dream into acting. Majoring in Film & Art from the ‘Konkuk University’ and joining ‘Starhaus Entertainment’, he initially did several small roles in TV before landing up to his breakthrough role of Gu Jun-pyo in TV series ‘Boys Over Flowers’. The role not only earned him several awards including Best New Actor (TV) award at the 45th Baeksang Arts Awards but also garnered him huge fame and popularity in Korea and several parts of Asia. The role proved to be a stepping stone to his burgeoning career that saw him performing in lead roles in several other series, most notably ‘The Legend of the Blue Sea’, ‘City Hunter’ and ‘The Heirs’. This South Korean heartthrob has also made a mark in big-screen with films like ‘Bounty Hunters’ and ‘Gangnam Blues’. His musical pursuits include two albums ‘My Everything’ and ‘Song for You’.

His older sister, Lee Yong-jung, serves as CEO of MYM Entertainment, the Korean agency he is presently associated with.

Lee had romantic relationship with South Korean actresses, Kim Hee Sun, and Park Min-young. He started dating South Korean singer, Bae Suzy in 2015.

3. Lee-Jong-Suk

Photo: Networth Height Salary

Net Worth-$32 million.

Earnings per episode: $50,300.

Lee Jong-suk is a popular South Korean actor and model. He is known for his work in 'School 2013', a South Korean TV series, as well as films like 'Hot Young Bloods'. Born in Seoul, the capital city of South Korea, Lee began his career as a model while he was a teenager. After he achieved success and appreciation as a model, he decided to try his luck in acting. His first professional role was in the TV series 'Prosecutor Princess', where he played a supporting role. The show was an average success. He came to popularity following his role in 'School 2013', a South Korean TV series which focused on problems such as bullying and school violence, faced by most Korean youths. The show was a success and won multiple awards. For his performance, Lee received the 'KBS Drama Award' for Best Actor, his first acting award. Over the next few years, he appeared in the series ‘Doctor Stranger’ as well as ‘Pinocchio.’ His work in both the series earned him a lot of acclaim. He has also played important roles in films such as 'Hot Young Bloods' and 'The Face Reader.’ In his acting career so far, Lee has not only earned a huge number of fans but also several important awards including the 'Korean Popular Culture & Arts Award' and the 'Korea Drama Award'.

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2. So-Ji-Sub

Photo: E! Online

Net Worth-$41 million

Earnings per episode: $67,100.

So Ji-sub is a South Korean actor well-known for his roles in several television series. A career that began out of a mere wish to pose alongside Kim Sung-jae (a hip-hop artist), So Ji-sub has achieved everything which people can only dream of. He made his acting debut in the 1996 television series, ‘Three Guys And Three Girls’. He appeared as a Jeans model before he stepped into the world of television. He rose to fame after he was cast in SBS’ ‘Glass Slippers’ in 2002.

His first lead role came in ‘I’m Sorry, I Love You’. This movie made him a superstar, and his stardom only grew further. He has also released books on photo-essay and has published a magazine ‘SONICe’ for his fans that included content like dating suggestions, food, books, music etc. He is also a rapper and released various rap singles. His latest single ‘So Ganzi’ was released n 2015, and was well received by his fans.

1. Kim So-Hyun

Photo: Getty Images

Net Worth: $117 million.

Earnings per episode: $84,000.

Kim So-hyun is a very talented South Korean actress known for her roles in many successful films and TV shows. She officially began her acting career at the age of 7 by appearing in a villainous role in ‘Drama City’, a popular TV series. She then went on appearing in many other TV shows and her appearance in the 2010 film ‘Man of Vendetta’ was marked as her big screen debut. Born in Australia, she hailed from a rich family and upon moving to Korea, her parents arranged for her home education, and during her childhood days, she started gaining interest in acting.

After playing parts as the second leads and minor roles throughout her teenage, her first appearance as the main lead happened with the 2015 teen drama series ‘Who Are You: School 2015’ and after that, she starred in ‘Hey Ghost! Let’s fight’ and in 2017, she provided her voice in the Japanese anime film ‘Your Name’.

Ever since she started, she has made appearances in more than 50 films, TV shows, music videos and concerts and is known as one of the most promising young actors working presently in the South Korean entertainment industry.

S. Korea’s number of ultra-high net worth individuals up 6.3%

South Korea marked the eighth-highest rate of growth in the number of individuals with ultrahigh net worth, recent data compiled by a global property consultancy showed Sunday.

The number of ultrawealthy people in Korea -- those with net assets worth $30 million or more -- increased by 6.3 percent on-year to 7,354 in 2020, according to the annual wealth report released by Knight Frank.

The number of people around the globe at the same standard of net wealth rose by 2.4 percent on-year to 521,653 last year. But that was only one-third the level of growth seen in the previous year’s report.

Of all the world’s regions, Asia saw the largest rise in the number of ultrarich individuals with an 11.6 percent growth rate, followed by Oceania with 9.9 percent. Conversely, the number of ultrarich people declined by 20.7 percent in the area comprising Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States. Latin America came next with a 13.5 percent fall, while the Middle East recorded a 10.1 percent decline.

Among the 44 major nations, China topped the index with 15.8 percent growth. Sweden and Singapore followed with 11.3 percent and 10.2 percent, respectively. Korea was No. 8 on the list, with a 6.3 percent growth rate. But Spain and France logged declines of 13.5 percent and 9.4 percent, respectively.

The country that saw the biggest increase in the population of those with $30 million or more in net assets was the US, where their total number came to 180,060. It was followed by China with 70,426 and Germany with 28,396. Korea came in 11th place with 7,354.

Morocco had the highest wealth threshold to join the richest 1 percent, at $7.9 million. Switzerland and the US required $5.1 million and $4.4 million, respectively, to be among the superrich. Singapore was Asia’s highest entry with $2.9 million, while Korea’s top 1 percent threshold was $1.2 million.

Meanwhile, Knight Frank forecast that the number of superrich people around the world will likely grow by 27 percent between 2020 and 2025, taking the total population to 663,483. Asia will see the highest growth rate of 39 percent, led by Indonesia and India, the consultancy predicted.

“The US is, and will remain, the world’s dominant wealth hub over our forecast period but Asia will see the fastest growth in ultra-high net worth individuals over the next five years, 39 percent compared to the 27 percent global average,” Liam Bailey, global head of research at Knight Frank, wrote in the report.

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