Netflix’s decision to cap actors’ salaries at ₩300 million KRW (about $216,000 USD) per project could end up reshaping, not always for the better, the K-drama ecosystem it helped fuel.
Take Byeon Woo-Seok, the breakout star of Lovely Runner. With his meteoric rise, he’s now headlining Solo Leveling, one of Netflix’s most ambitious live-action adaptations. Naturally, fans expected his paycheck to match his stardom. But thanks to this new cap, Byeon, and others riding the same wave of popularity, may have to settle for much less.
On paper, the decision looks logical. Netflix has been under fire for bloated budgets, with Squid Game 2 reportedly paying Lee Jung-Jae $1 million per episode. That kind of spending distorted the domestic industry, forcing smaller studios to either overspend or fall behind. With only 80 dramas lined up this year compared to 141 in 2022, the bubble was clearly unsustainable.
But here’s the catch: stars like Byeon Woo-Seok are the reason global audiences flock to K-dramas. By putting a ceiling on their earnings, Netflix risks discouraging top-tier talent or, worse, pushing them back toward local platforms that may offer flexibility. The result? Global projects like Solo Leveling might not get the very star power they’re banking on.
Yes, curbing runaway production costs is sensible. But Netflix should remember, its “future projects” thrive only if stars like Byeon feel valued. Otherwise, this cap could turn from a financial safeguard into a creative setback.