In recent years, Netflix Korean dramas have been globally popular, from “Squid Game” to “Crash Landing on You,” leading to a surge in the salaries of Korean actors. For example, the price tag for Lee Jung-jae in filming “Squid Game 2” is reportedly 1 billion Korean Won per episode (approximately 22 million New Taiwan Dollars). The escalating costs have prompted Netflix to reportedly launch an official actor compensation adjustment mechanism, setting the maximum salary per episode at around 400 million Korean Won (about 8.8 million New Taiwan Dollars), causing a heated discussion.
According to reports from South Korean media, there has been recent speculation in the industry that Netflix has capped actor salaries, with a maximum of 400 million Korean Won per episode, leading to a restructuring of production cost structures.
Since the advent of the OTT era in the film and television industry, Korean drama production costs have rapidly increased. Previously, the cost per episode of Korean dramas was around 300 to 400 million Korean Won (approximately 7.28 to 9.7 million New Taiwan Dollars), but with Netflix’s investment in the Korean market, the cost per episode has skyrocketed to over 2 billion Korean Won (about 48.52 million New Taiwan Dollars), with actor salaries being the major cost.
It is reported that earlier this year, the popular drama “Crash Landing on You” had a production budget of 60 billion Korean Won (about 1.45 billion New Taiwan Dollars), while the upcoming “Squid Game 3” is said to have a budget of 100 billion Korean Won (approximately 2.43 billion New Taiwan Dollars). Such exorbitant production costs are widely believed to be linked to A-list actors shifting to streaming platforms.
The extreme costs have burdened Korean domestic production companies, leading to an overall decrease in output. Data shows that in 2022, a total of 141 Korean dramas were broadcast, but in 2023 and 2024, the numbers decreased to 123 and 100 respectively, with an estimated output of only about 80 dramas in 2025.
In comparison to Japan, Korean actor salaries are significantly higher. For instance, Japanese actors starring in Netflix dramas earn around 10 million Japanese Yen per episode (about 2.11 million New Taiwan Dollars), while top Korean actors’ salaries are reportedly 3 to 10 times higher.
In response to the news of salary adjustments, on June 9, Netflix issued a statement to South Korean media, emphasizing that budgets will still be determined based on the needs of each production, ensuring “responsible investment.” However, Netflix did not provide a clear answer on whether a specific salary limit has been set or disclose any specific figures.