Netflix has announced a new policy limiting actor appearance fees in Korean dramas to 300 million KRW (about 220,000 USD) per episode. The decision comes after growing criticism that the company’s huge budgets were driving up salaries and making production costs unmanageable.
Industry insiders revealed that since last year, Netflix has been quietly reducing its Korean original drama lineup. While projects already filmed or near completion remain scheduled for release this year, the number of new productions slated for 2026 is expected to decline significantly.
Rumors about Netflix’s shift began circulating months ago. In January, reports emerged that the platform was slashing star appearance fees, with caps set at around 500 million KRW ($359,000) per episode for male leads and 250 million KRW ($180,000) for female leads. The move was seen as part of an internal policy to curb unsustainable production costs.
Netflix once viewed Korean dramas as its most cost-efficient investments. “Squid Game” Season 1, for example, cost just $2.4 million USD per episode (about 3.5 billion KRW)—a fraction of the $12 million USD per episode spent on Stranger Things. That early efficiency helped turn K-content into Netflix’s “golden goose.”
But in recent years, Netflix’s aggressive investments—reportedly over 1 trillion KRW—have seen diminishing returns. Several high-budget Korean dramas launched in 2024 underperformed, despite hundreds of billions of won spent on production.
In recent years, top Korean actors have been earning record-breaking paychecks. Actor fees, which once hovered in the tens of millions per episode, skyrocketed to 1 billion KRW or more for top-tier stars after Netflix entered the market.
Squid Game star Lee Jung Jae was reported to have received around 1.3 billion KRW per episode for the show’s second season. While he later said the number was slightly exaggerated, he admitted that his fee had significantly increased compared to season one.
Netflix’s willingness to pay such amounts has been praised for boosting the global reach of K-dramas, but it has also been blamed for creating a “salary bubble.” Productions like When Life Gives You Tangerines (budgeted at 60 billion KRW) and Squid Game season two (100 billion KRW) showed how far costs have climbed.
Smaller studios, unable to keep up, have been forced to cut back. In 2022, Korea produced 141 dramas, but this year that number is expected to fall to just 80.
To address these concerns, Netflix decided earlier this year to set a 300 million KRW cap. An industry insider explained that the platform wants to “match salaries to realistic budgets” and prevent unsustainable spending while still paying actors fairly.
This move is expected to affect even fast-rising stars. Actor Byeon Woo Seok, who gained worldwide attention with Lovely Runner and is leading Netflix’s live-action Solo Leveling, is likely to stay within the 300 million KRW range per episode. However, the company has made clear that exceptions can be made depending on the size of a project, the role of the actor, or the length of the contract.
For example, multi-season contracts often include pay raises of up to 40% in later seasons. Netflix also clarified that the cap is not a strict rule but rather a guideline to keep costs under control. “We don’t apply a single ceiling across all works,” a Netflix official said. “We negotiate based on the scale of each project and the actor’s role.”
Industry experts see this as a turning point. Kim Tae Won, Director of Netflix Korea’s Content Team, had already raised concerns in October 2023, warning that skyrocketing costs “could come back to haunt us.” He stressed the need for “reasonable salaries that benefit the actors, the platform, and the content itself.”
Interestingly, Netflix appears to be increasing its investment in Korean variety shows, which deliver strong buzz at lower production costs compared to scripted dramas. The success of Single’s Inferno and Culinary Class Wars convinced Netflix to double down on unscripted programming.
Meanwhile, the change in salary may bring relief to smaller production companies and help stabilize Korea’s drama industry. Still, there are questions about whether top stars will continue to sign with Netflix under lower pay limits.
