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Richest Korean Actresses in the World 2023

She has transitioned into adolescent roles by starring in television shows since her 2003 acting debut when she became one of the most renowned child actresses in South Korea.

Richest Korean Actresses in the World: Which Korean actresses are among the highest-paid? What are their earnings per episode? To respond to all your news Fillgap. News is returning with another list of the top 10 wealthiest Korean actresses in 2023. However, the year has just begun, and the list was compiled based on their income from the previous year. This roster will be updated by the end of the year. Korea’s entertainment industry has become highly competitive. Currently, many actors and actresses earn millions of dollars annually from their acting careers.

Richest Korean Actresses in the World

1. Lee Young-ae – $52 million

Lee Young-ae is a well-known South Korean veteran actress and model. After appearing in a number of television commercials, she entered the television drama and cinema industries. Dae Jang Geum (2003) and as a single mother pursuing revenge in the crime thriller Sympathy for Lady Vengeance (2005) by Park Chan-wook. In 2021, she was rated as the wealthiest Korean actress.

UNICEF appointed her a Goodwill Ambassador in 2004, and she has since participated in numerous charity events. She has made numerous donations to schools and institutions, including the Chosun First Middle School in Harbin and a Chinese elementary school renamed the Lee Young-Ae Elementary School. The South Korean government awarded her the Medal of Culture Merit in 2007 for her contribution to the Korean Wave.

2. Song Hye-Kyo – $37 million

Song Hye-Kyo, a 38-year-old South Korean actress, has long been among the highest-paid Korean actresses. She rose to prominence throughout Asia as a result of her prominent roles in television dramas. She was rated seventh in 2017 and sixth in 2018 on Forbes magazine’s Korea Power Celebrity list. The international popularity of Song’s television dramas established her as a leading Hallyu star. Song issued a public apology in August 2014 for perpetrating tax evasion when she claimed undocumented expenses after a politician in charge of the administration of the National Tax Service of South Korea accidentally exposed her.

She asserted that her accountant mishandled her paperwork without her knowledge, causing her to omit $2.56 billion in income tax from 2009 to 2011.

The Richest Korean Actors in the World

3. Go Hyun-jung – $34 million

Go Hyun-Jung is a veteran actress in South Korea. She entered the entertainment industry as a runner-up for Miss Korea in 1989 and went on to star in Hourglass, one of the highest-rated and most critically acclaimed television dramas in Korean history. After marrying Chaebol Chung Yong-jin in 1995, she retired but returned to acting after their 2003 divorce. As a result of the triumph of her television series Queen Seondeok and Daemul, Go has since regained her status as Korea’s highest-paid actress. In her new May-airing drama, “Dear My Friends,” she will receive 60 million won (approximately $49,000) per episode. This is greater than any other actress in the drama.

As an adjunct professor in the theatre department at her alma mater Dongguk University, she began teaching acting in 2014.

4. IU – $31 million

IU is a South Korean actress and singer-songwriter. She signed with Kakao M (formerly LOEN Entertainment) as a protégé in 2007 and released her debut album, Lost and Found, at the age of fifteen.
In addition to her music career, IU has dabbled in radio and television hosting, as well as acting. IU starred in You’re the Best, Lee Soon-shin, Pretty Man, The Producers, Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo, My Mister, Persona, and Hotel del Luna following her supporting role in the adolescent drama Dream High and minor appearances in several television series.

5. Bae Suzy – $30 million

Suzy is a performer and actress from South Korea. She was a member of JYP Entertainment’s female group Miss A. She, along with two other females named Fei and Jia, founded their own group called ‘Miss A’, and Min joined the group in March 2010. They released another album titled “Class A,” which was a huge success and embarked on a nationwide tour to promote it.

6. Jun Ji-hyun – $28 million

A veteran South Korean actress and model, Jun Ji-Hyun is featured at the summit of this list of the highest-paid Korean actresses in 2021. She soared to prominence for her performance as The Girl in My Sassy Girl (2001), one of the highest-grossing Korean comedies of all time.The international triumph of her films and television dramas established her as a leading Hallyu star. Throughout her career, she has starred in several acclaimed historical dramas. In 2017, she was rated eighth on the Forbes Korea Power Celebrity list, making her the youngest member of the Top 10 at age 17.

In 2011, the CEO of SidusHQ, Jung Hoon-tak, was accused of unlawfully using Jun’s bank account to steal merger and acquisition profits.

7. Choi Ji-woo – $27.5 million

Choi Ji-woo is an actress from South Korea. She is regarded as one of South Korea’s most beautiful women, and has been praised for her roles in a variety of melodramas, including Beautiful Days (2001), Winter Sonata (2002), Stairway to Heaven (2003), The Suspicious Housekeeper (2013), and Temptation (2014), as well as the romantic comedy series Twenty Again (2015) and Woman with a Suitcase (2016). She is still among the highest-paid Korean actresses in 2021.

8. Kim Tae-hee – $25 million

Kim Tae-hee is a veteran actress in South Korea. As one of the most attractive women in South Korea, she is best known for her roles in popular Korean dramas.A marketing executive saw Kim riding the tube in 2000 and offered her a modelling position. Before making her acting début in the 2001 melodrama Last Present, Kim appeared in television commercials and print advertisements. In 2002, she appeared in the short film Living in New Town and the sitcom. Let’s Go, and in 2003, she starred in Screen and A Problem at My Younger Brother’s House. She remains among the highest-paid Korean actresses in 2021.

Kim became one of the most sought-after faces in the television commercial industry on the strength of Stairway to Heaven and Love Story in Harvard.

9. Han Ji-min – $21 million

Han Ji-min is an actress from South Korea. After minor roles in All In and Dae Jang Geum, Han’s breakthrough role came in 2005’s Resurrection. She then gave all of the royalties to help finance the education of children in North Korea and Asian developing nations. In 2012, she was appointed as the United Nations Environment Programme’s ambassador of benevolence. She appeared in the 2018 hit film Crazy Rich Asians. Miss Baek, starring Han Ji Min, will begin the inaugural Winter Showcase of the New York Asian Film Festival in New York City.

10. Kim Yoo-Jung – $16 million

Actress Kim Yoo-Jung is a native of South Korea. She has transitioned into adolescent roles by starring in television shows since her 2003 acting debut when she became one of the most renowned child actresses in South Korea. As a child actress, Kim was known as “Korea’s Little Sister”. She has since been labelled “Sageuk Fairy” after starring in several acclaimed historical dramas.

Eric Joseph Gomes

Seasoned professional blog writer with a passion for delivering high-quality content that informs, educates, and engages readers.

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