Korean stars who earn fortunes from advertisements: Song Hye Kyo remains at the top, Hyun Bin and Son Ye Jin missing entirely?

dhanMay 31, 2022Last Updated: May 31, 2022

3 minutes read

Brands seem to prefer actors and actresses with a lot of famous commercial works, such as Song Hye Kyo.

Alongside having top-class movies and series, TV shows, and music, Korea is also home to various global ambassadors of luxury brands.

In fact, famous brands seem to be fond of having Korean celebrities as their representative due to the worldwide influence of Korean media, and many Korean actors and actresses can earn millions of dollars just through their advertisements.

Below are 5 familiar names that are currently ruling over the Korean’s CF field, with huge popularity and various commercial deals that extend way outside of their countries.

Song Hye Kyo

It would be a mistake to leave famous actress Song Hye Kyo out of the list, seeing that his Hallyu queen is always favored by luxury brands. With her out-of-this-world visuals, the actress can transform from sweet and cute to chic and cold in a matter of minutes, and easily cater to the desired image of each brand.

According to Allstarnetworth, Song Hye Kyo’s current wealth amounts to around 25 million USD, with most of her revenues coming from CF deals in fashion, food, and technology.

Since 2018, the actress has been named the ambassador for the expensive jewelry brand Chaumet. She has also represented various Korean cosmetics brands in the past, and promotions on Song Hye Kyo’s Instagram can earn her up to 650,000 USD per post.

Kim Soo Hyun

Alongside being a top actor in Korea, Kim Soo Hyun is also an irrefutable CF star.

After his excellent performance with Jeon Ji Hyun in “My Love From The Stars”, Kim Soo Hyun’s popularity extended way outside of Korea, and his commercial profile also became way more impressive.

According to insiders, Kim Soo Hyun receives from 800 million to 1 billion won for each advertisement he stars in, which falls from around 650,000 USD to 800,000 USD. And these are only the numbers before his global hit “It’s Okay To Not Be Okay”.

In 2020, Kim Soo Hyun became the Korean actor who had the highest appearance fee among the entire industry. The title of “advertisement king” would be no exaggeration for this actor, seeing that in 2014 alone, he starred in 30 CF films, and represented a total of 17 brands.

The actor has also been named the ambassador of luxury brand Tommy Hilfiger back in 2021.

Jeon Ji Hyun

Despite her meager number of K-dramas, Jeon Ji Hyun is still among the top earners from commercial deals.

Similar to Kim Soo Hyun, Jeon Ji Hyun earned various advertisements after the success of “My Love From the Stars”, which amounted to 20 billion won (16 million USD)

At the moment, Jeon Ji Hyun’s net worth falls around the 6 million USD mark, including an expensive contract with the world-famous designer house Alexander McQueen.

Park Seo Joon

After the success of K-dramas “She Was Pretty”, “Fight For My Way”, and “What’s Wrong With Secretary Kim”, Park Seo Joon earned ample attention and was named a top star in Korea.

The actor’s influence also transpired to the global scene, and his masculine and alluring charm made him a favorite of brands both in and outside of Korea.

According to the Korean Broadcasting Advertising Corporation (KOBACO), Park Seo Joon was the top advertisement star of 2018. The TV show TMI news also revealed that in this year alone, the famous actor earned over 6 million USD for his CF appearances.

Now, Park Seo Joon has also become the choice of global brands like Calvin Klein, Ricola, and Chanel.

Gong Yoo

Last but not least is the gentlemanly Gong Yoo, who has won over the Korean public with various successful projects.

After rising to stardom with the 2007 series “Coffee Prince”, Gong Yoo extended his popularity to a worldwide scale thanks to his 2016 work “Goblin”. As a result, the actor is not only dearly loved by the audience, but also by huge international brands.