Jun Ji-hyun is the richest Korean actor as of November 2026, with a net worth we estimate at about $100 million, most of it held in Seoul commercial buildings. She is well ahead of Song Seung-heon and Bae Yong-joon, the next two names on our list. We rank South Korean film and television actors, men and women, by personal wealth, and when a married couple owns property together we count only the actor’s own share.
One warning before the numbers. Korean stars rarely disclose their finances, so these figures lean heavily on public property records, which Korean media track closely, plus reported fees and company stakes. Treat them as informed estimates.
| Rank | Name | Net worth (USD) | Main source of wealth |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | So Ji-sub | $23 million | Acting fees, Seoul property |
| 9 | Jang Keun-suk | $30 million | Japanese fan market, real estate |
| 8 | Son Ye-jin | $35 million | Film and drama fees, Gangnam property |
| 7 | Lee Jung-jae | $40 million | Squid Game fees, Artist Company stake, property |
| 6 | Kim Tae-hee | $40 million | Endorsements, buildings held with Rain |
| 5 | Kwon Sang-woo | $44 million | Acting, Seongsu-dong building |
| 4 | Song Hye-kyo | $45 million | Drama fees, luxury endorsements, property |
| 3 | Bae Yong-joon | $50 million | KeyEast sale, SM Entertainment shares |
| 2 | Song Seung-heon | $75 million | Commercial real estate in Seoul |
| 1 | Jun Ji-hyun | $100 million | Seoul commercial real estate, endorsements |
Ranking the richest Korean actors
10. So Ji-sub: $23 million
So Ji-sub started as a model and a competitive swimmer before acting took over. “Sorry, I Love You” in 2004 turned him into a heartthrob, and “Master’s Sun” in 2013 kept him there.
He is also known in Korea as a sharp property buyer, picking up small Gangnam buildings, renting them out and selling at a profit. Some of his money has also gone into the Korean release of foreign art films he liked.
Estimates for So Ji-sub vary more than most, from $16 million to $41 million. Ours sits in the lower half because it counts what can be documented: a Hannam The Hill apartment he bought for 6.1 billion won in cash in 2018, where a similar unit sold for about 12.8 billion won in 2025, plus his acting income after tax and spending.
9. Jang Keun-suk: $30 million
Japanese fans call him “Prince of Asia,” and for a while in the early 2010s he could fill arenas in Tokyo without releasing a new drama. “You’re Beautiful” in 2009 started it. Fan meetings, albums with his band Team H and endorsements in Japan followed.
He put those earnings into real estate. A 2020 broadcast survey of celebrity property holdings put his portfolio at 55 billion won, the fifth largest of any Korean entertainer at the time.
Our model starts from that property figure, takes off about 21 billion won in reported loans on his Cheongdam and Samsung-dong buildings, and adds his savings from fees after tax.
8. Son Ye-jin: $35 million
Son Ye-jin was Korea’s melodrama queen long before “Crash Landing on You” made her famous worldwide in 2019. “The Classic” and “A Moment to Remember” made her a household name across Asia in the early 2000s, and in 2025 she returned to the big screen in Park Chan-wook’s “No Other Choice.” She married her co-star Hyun Bin in 2022.
In 2020 she picked up a Sinsa-dong building in Gangnam for 16 billion won, paying about 4 billion won in cash and borrowing the rest, and she also holds a building in Yeoksam-dong. Our number is her own share only: her buildings minus loans, plus two decades of film and drama fees and earlier property sales. Her husband’s assets are not counted.
7. Lee Jung-jae: $40 million
Lee Jung-jae was already a star in Korea when “Squid Game” arrived in 2021. The show made him the first Asian actor to win the Emmy for lead actor in a drama, and the later seasons reportedly paid him close to $1 million an episode. He also played a Jedi master in the 2024 series “The Acolyte.”
His other fortune comes from business. He co-founded the management agency Artist Company with his friend Jung Woo-sung, and after a 2023 share deal his stake in a listed affiliate jumped from about 10 billion won to 72.8 billion won in a single rally. He has sold part of those holdings since.
The figure mixes acting pay, a cautious value for the remaining listed stake and his share of a Cheongdam-dong building he bought with Jung for 33 billion won. Listed shares move fast, so this one can change quickly.
6. Kim Tae-hee: $40 million
Kim Tae-hee graduated from Seoul National University, the country’s most selective school, and became famous as the face of the spy drama “Iris” in 2009. For more than a decade she was one of the highest-paid commercial models in Korea.
She and her husband, the singer and actor Rain, are often called the richest celebrity couple in the country, mostly through a Gangnam Station building they bought for 92 billion won in 2021 and now valued well above that. She also sold a unit at the luxury complex Hannam The Hill for about 12.8 billion won in 2025, three times what she paid in 2018.
Her figure counts only her own share. Rain’s majority stake in the couple’s building is left out, which is why she sits well below the couple totals often quoted. She ties with Lee Jung-jae, and we place her ahead because more of her figure rests on documented property.
5. Kwon Sang-woo: $44 million
Kwon Sang-woo was the lead in “Stairway to Heaven” (2003), one of the dramas that kicked off the Korean Wave across Asia, and he has worked steadily in film and television ever since.
His real fortune sits in bricks. In 2015 he paid about 8 billion won for a lot in Seongsu-dong, Seoul’s fashionable warehouse district, and ran a car wash on it. He has since replaced it with a new building, which he showed off in 2025 and which is estimated at about 43 billion won, or roughly $32 million, once finished. With his wife, actress Son Tae-young, he has been ranked among the biggest celebrity property holders in Korea for years.
We credited Kwon with the Seongsu building, less estimated debt, plus his other buildings in Deungchon and Bundang after loans. His wife’s own property is not counted.
4. Song Hye-kyo: $45 million
Song Hye-kyo has had three career peaks. “Full House” (2004) made her a star at home, “Descendants of the Sun” (2016) made her a star across Asia, and the Netflix revenge drama “The Glory” (2022 to 2023) made her a star everywhere else.
She ranks among the top paid Korean actresses per episode and has long been a face for luxury jewelry and fashion houses. Like most of the names here, she has put her earnings into Seoul property: a five-story building near Hannam The Hill that she bought for 19.5 billion won in 2021 and that has since gained about 6 billion won in value, plus homes in Seoul and New York.
Published estimates for her vary wildly, from about $20 million to $60 million. Ours sits in the middle: the Hannam building after an estimated loan, her homes and savings from two decades of fees and brand contracts.
3. Bae Yong-joon: $50 million
In Japan he is still “Yon-sama.” “Winter Sonata” (2002) made him so popular there that tour buses took fans to the drama’s filming locations, and his face sold everything from calendars to cosmetics. These days he barely acts.
The money came from the business he built on that fame. Bae was the largest shareholder of KeyEast, a talent agency and drama producer that signed a long list of top actors. In 2018 he sold his 25% stake to SM Entertainment in a deal worth about 50 billion won, paid partly in cash and mostly in SM shares. He also holds a small stake in the agency Blitzway, worth about 2 billion won in late 2026.
We added the KeyEast proceeds after an estimated tax bill, the Blitzway stake and an allowance for his earlier fees, restaurants and property. Published estimates run from $50 million to $70 million, and ours sits at the bottom of that range.
2. Song Seung-heon: $75 million
Song Seung-heon has played the brooding leading man since “Autumn in My Heart” in 2000, and he has been one of the most consistent investors in Korean show business. A 2020 survey ranked his property holdings at 69.2 billion won, fourth among all Korean celebrities and higher than any other single male actor.
Most of that is commercial space in Gangnam, the kind of asset that pays rent whether or not he books a role. His Sinsa-dong buildings were valued at about 82.9 billion won by brokers in late 2024, with no loan reported against them, and that same year he sold a building in Jongno for about 26 billion won.
Our figure adds the Sinsa buildings, his net gain from the Jongno sale and his homes. It leaves out his acting savings, so it is, if anything, on the cautious side.
1. Jun Ji-hyun: $100 million
“My Sassy Girl” made Jun Ji-hyun a star in 2001. “My Love from the Star” in 2013 made her the most in-demand advertising face in Asia, and for years she was paid more per commercial than almost any actor in Korea. She also led the hit films “The Thieves” and “Assassination.”
She is better known now as one of the biggest property buyers in Seoul. She paid 50.5 billion won for a commercial building in Gangseo District in 2022, 13 billion won in cash for a penthouse at Acro Seoul Forest in 2023, and in early 2026 completed a 46.8 billion won purchase of two buildings and a strip of land in Seongsu-dong. She also owns retail property in Yongsan and Gangnam. Korean media estimate her real estate at close to 150 billion won.
The ranking uses that property total, minus about 56 billion won in estimated loans on the Gangseo and Seongsu buildings, plus her cash from 25 years of fees and endorsements. Her husband’s finance career is not counted.
Special mentions
- Lee Young-ae: the “Jewel in the Palace” star is often listed at about $90 million, but much of that reflects her husband’s business wealth, so we leave her out of the ten.
- Rain: Jung Ji-hoon acts, but he built his fortune first as a singer, so his share of the couple’s buildings belongs on a K-pop list.
- Hyun Bin: the “Crash Landing on You” star is worth about $22 million on our numbers, including a Cheongdam-dong building he paid for in cash, which leaves him just outside the ten and behind his wife, Son Ye-jin.
What the richest Korean actors have in common
Every person on this list is, in practice, a landlord. Korean stars earn their money in short, intense bursts, through a hit drama and two or three years of advertising deals, and they park it in Seoul buildings that keep paying when the roles dry up. That is why property surveys, not salaries, decide this ranking. The second pattern is age: most of the names broke out between 2000 and 2013, during the first Korean Wave, and have had 15 or 20 years for their real estate to grow. Younger stars with bigger streaming fees may climb this list, but they have not had time to compound yet.
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FAQ
Who is the richest Korean actor in 2026?
Jun Ji-hyun is the richest Korean actor, with an estimated net worth of about $100 million in November 2026, built largely on Seoul commercial real estate.
Who is the richest male Korean actor?
Song Seung-heon is the richest male actor on our list at about $75 million, almost all of it in Gangnam commercial buildings.
How much is Lee Jung-jae worth after Squid Game?
We estimate Lee Jung-jae at about $40 million, combining his Squid Game fees, his stake in the Artist Company group and a Seoul building he owns with Jung Woo-sung.
How do Korean actors make most of their money?
Per-episode fees and advertising contracts provide the cash, but most of the wealth ends up in Seoul real estate, which has risen sharply in value.
How much is the No. 10 actor on the list worth?
So Ji-sub is 10th with an estimated $23 million.
How we estimate net worth
Our estimates are based on public reporting, company valuations, and deal and earnings figures all compiled in an internal valuation model. They are approximate, and figures change over time as new information emerges.
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Last updated: November 2026.