Just Catalina
6. Jun Ji-hyun – $31 million
Jun Ji-hyun is another veteran South Korean actress and model who has been featured at the top of this list of the highest paid Korean actresses 2024. She rose to fame for her role as The Girl in the romantic comedy My Sassy Girl (2001), one of the highest-grossing Korean comedies of all time.The success of her films and television dramas internationally established her as a top Hallyu star. After starring in several acclaimed historical dramas in her career. In 2017, she ranked 8th on Forbes Korea Power Celebrity list, the youngest to be included in the Top 10 at 17 years old.
In 2011, SidusHQ CEO Jung Hoon-tak was accused of illegally using Jun’s bank account to pocket profits from a merger and acquisition. Jung allegedly made ₩200 million after purchasing a stake in the junior KOSDAQ-listed Stom E&F in 2009 with an account under Jun’s name and announcing through a public filing several months later that he would buy Stom E&F. Jung and Stom E&F’s former CEO Kwon Seung-shik were reported for gaining unfair profits by leaking information on the M&A beforehand. In an investigation by the Financial Supervisory Service, Jun testified that she was unaware of such an account existing under her name.
7. Choi Ji-woo – $30.5 million
Choi Ji-woo is a South Korean actress. Considered one of South Korea’s most beautiful women, she has received critical acclaim for her work in a wide range of melodramas, most notably Beautiful Days (2001), Winter Sonata (2002), Stairway to Heaven (2003), The Suspicious Housekeeper (2013) and Temptation (2014), as well as the romantic comedy series Twenty Again (2015) and Woman with a Suitcase (2016). She is certainly still one of the highest paid Korean actresses 2024
She continues to be a lucrative star and brand in Japan, fetching high licensing/broadcasting rights for her dramas and selling out concerts and merchandise (tvN’s E News compiled a list of the top Hallyu stars in Japan based on their approximate gross incomes for the first half of 2011, and Choi was number five with approximately US$2 million).
8. Kim Tae-hee – $29 million
Kim Tae-hee is a veteran South Korean actress. Considered one of South Korea’s most beautiful women, she is best known for her roles in popular Korean dramas.In 2000, an advertising executive saw Kim riding the subway, and offered her a modeling job. Kim appeared in television commercials and print ads, before making her acting debut with a small role in the 2001 melodrama Last Present. In 2002, she starred in the short film Living in New Town and the sitcom Let’s Go, followed by Screen and A Problem at My Younger Brother’s House in 2003. She is still one of the highest paid Korean Actresses 2024.
Riding the big success of Stairway to Heaven and Love Story in Harvard, Kim became one of the most sought-after faces in the TV commercial industry. She was picked by Korea Broadcast Advertising Corporation as the top advertising model of the year in 2008, earning her title of “CF Queen”. However, Kim expressed her desire to be valued properly as an actor, preferring to succeed based on her acting skills rather than her image. She is ranked 5th on the list of the richest Korean actresses 2024.
9. JISOO – $25 million
Kim Yoo-jung is a South Korean actress. After her acting debut in 2003, she became one of the best known child actresses in Korea and since then, has transitioned into teen roles by starring in television shows. Considered “Korea’s Little Sister” when she was a child actress, Kim has since been dubbed “Sageuk Fairy” after starring in several acclaimed historical dramas in her career. In 2017, she ranked 8th on Forbes Korea Power Celebrity list, the youngest to be included in the Top 10 at 17 years old. Definitely makes the list of the top 10 richest actresses in Korea 2024
In August 2016, Kim starred in her first adult leading role, alongside Park Bo-gum, in the youth historical drama Love in the Moonlight. A domestic hit, Moonlight achieved peak audience rating of 23.3% and its popularity was referred to as “Moonlight Syndrome”. Kim won “Excellence Award, Actress in a Mid-length Drama” for portraying Moonlight’s cross-dressing heroine at the 30th KBS Drama Awards
10. Han Ji-min – $25 million
Han Ji-min is a South Korean actress. After minor roles in All In and Dae Jang Geum, Han had her breakout role in revenge series Resurrection in 2005. She then donated all the royalties to help in funding the education of children in North Korea and developing countries in Asia. In 2012, she was designated as goodwill ambassador of the United Nations Environment Programme. She was featured in 2018 blockbuster Crazy Rich Asians. Miss Baek, starring Han Ji Min, will open the New York Asian Film Festival’s first-ever Winter Showcase in New York City.
Titled Crazy Broke Asians, the name of the February event plays off the successful 2018 film Crazy Rich Asians, which won best comedy honors at the Critics Choice Awards and an outstanding performance by a cast award at the 25th Screen Actors Guild Awards.
